


Scavenger!AU

by emissaryarchitect



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: AU, Other, this is a rlly complicated AU my pals my chums
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-05-22 01:03:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6065011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emissaryarchitect/pseuds/emissaryarchitect
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ava Ire is the first child of Wrathia Bellarmina, who was exiled after Pedri Nanezgani killed her father. Having made a pact with the spirit of her deceased father, he serves as a guiding hand and a constant pressure for perfection.<br/>Scavenger Six serves under TiTAN, the birthfather of the Scavengers. When they find a source of inexhaustible energy source that can be used to help TiTAN rebuild his world, they're delighted.<br/>When they find out its the last living daughter of the Vengess, both sides have trouble figuring out if they want the other dead, or as a companion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Unfortunate Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> hey there, I posted this originally on tumblr, but for organizing purposes I'm gonna be posting here instead.  
> This AU has all the characters we've met THUS FAR in AD canon, so if new characters appear its a coin toss if they'll be worked in or not.

“ _This_ is where the trail leads?” they asked, quirking an eyebrow as they scoured the landscape. This planet was more of a comet than a world, with a cooling core that would be useless to the cause, not even hot enough to power one of their vessels. The lopsided core at the center made the entire planet go off kilter, and the nearby gas giant burned just on the horizon constantly, no sunrises or sunsets.  

A nearby scavenger trilled in response, vocal commands crackling as words finally formed. “ **Affirmative**.”

Six sighed, lungs clicking for the exhale of air, tapping a foot methodically. “Comb the perimeter. Our scanners said there was an energy spike of a core rivaling the ancients, so _find_ it. If you get any other clues regarding the ancient’s relic, inform me first. ” The scavenger swiveled its single eye in response, a dull red as the squads of long limbed monsters began looking over the grounds.

There were a few buildings, a sign that this place once had inhabitants, but they were hundreds of years old. The remnants were mostly overgrown with little violet flowers and other plants that were still somehow surviving the planet’s slow destruction. They idly checked the tubes that connected to their breathing mask just to make sure there wasn’t a leak, before walking around a bit. Six neared one of the older buildings as they pulled up a scanner from their hip, looking over the florid holographic screen.

The numbers just kept climbing. They smacked the side of the scanner with the palm of their hand, seeing if maybe it was busted – but that couldn’t be, all the other scavenger’s scanners said the same thing – when there was a rustling noise.

They turned to see a bit of debris from one of the abandoned stone buildings crumble, landing on the dirt ground.

Looking back up at the building, it seemed stable enough. It was constructed from pale white stone, but the degrading atmosphere gave everything a coppery hue.

Scavengers never changed color.

Even in the strange atmosphere, Six’s hair was a cool blue under their helmet, all the other scavengers like shadows and creeping creatures among the underbrush as they searched.

Six looked at the building, before pushing open the rotting wooden door with the tips of their fingers. It swung open with a high creak, and they inspected the inside from the doorway.

There were sets of pews that led up to what should have been an altar. Instead, a hole had worn in the middle of the room, and more purple budded flowers were gathered there.

Half the building was shadowed from lack of light, and they changed the settings of their visor as they ran their fingers down the side of their helmet. The colors of the world changed to the different views – there were no geographical changes, save the shifting of the planet’s plates to the cooling core – no EMP readings – they paused.

There was a strange heat spike in the far corner of the room, a blot on their screen. They squinted, hooking their scanner back onto their hip as they neared the corner, checking their settings for anything else.

Movement?

Before they could investigate further, a blur of molten fire and scarlet plowed into their jaw, causing them to ricochet sideways, pain lacing up their face. The form landed a blow to their stomach, causing them to buckle, and as Six stumbled back the person kept hitting their openings – an elbow to the stomach, a fist to the throat – they knew what they were doing.

These attacks were no more than a throb on their flesh thanks to their armor, but the figure spun around and slammed the heel of their foot over Six’s crown, and they jerked violently to the side.

 _That_ hurt.

 As the figure prepared for another attack, Six managed to yank their electric prongs out, shoving them blindly forward.

The prongs hit their mark, and the figure buckled from the electrocution, flying backwards. She called out in pain – her voice distinctly female - but, instead of falling over dead as most others would under such a high voltage, she flipped halfway through the air and skid on her feet backwards in the nest of flowers.

Six met a pair of burning eyes, face and throat covered by a scarlet cowl wrapped around. Her skirt was a cloth cobbled together from two different fabrics, one a dull brown and the other a wiry orange.

Her arms glowed like magma was seeped in her flesh, and through fingerless gloves they spotted tipped claws, twitching as stray bolts of electricity zapped finger to finger, until she clenched her fist and it dispersed. A thick rope of fiery hair danced around her hips as she shifted, and they could see bronze horns cresting pointed ears.

“You’re a rather rude individual,” Six stated loudly, snapping their prongs through the air, extending them. They crackled blue against the cardinal world around them, and the figure only shifted herself into a defensive stance, bare feet buried in hard soil and sweet smelling flowers. “What’s the reason for attacking me?”

She didn’t grace them with an answer, instead glaring, burning eyes boring into Six’s. She took a running start and yelled as she tried to slide downwards and knock Six off their feet, but the scavenger leapt into the air and dodged her attack, landing on their feet at the edge of the flowerbed. As they straightened themselves out, slightly out of breath – they were expecting a routine check for cores, not a sprinting competition – they inclined their head slightly and found she was already upon them. She swung forward with a powerful fist, knuckles like hot iron as Six blasted backwards and their helmet warped from the heat and the force of the blow.

They bounced off the far wall, white debris scattering over their shoulders, but they had no time to catch their breath. She hopped up and jumped from the parallel supporting pillars to the wall, back and forth, descending on Six. They expertly backtracked, trying to dodge her movements as she sped forward and hooked her knee against their chest, smacking them backwards, almost onto their back. They did a backflip from their position on the floor, dust clinging to their onyx armor, and was up on their feet before she could slam a foot through their skull.

However, she managed to leap forward, all fire and molten skin, slamming one clawed foot under their chin - and as they jerked upwards, she brought her foot back down on the top of their head and they choked on their breath. She was aiming almost strictly for their head, one of their only fatal weak-points.

As they were reeling from her hits, she spun through the air, fast as a firecracker, and smashed both her feet upwards from their chest. Six called out in pain, jerking backwards, as she made an arc through the air, faster than fire and searing the atmosphere with her anger.

Six somehow managed to stay on their feet, and she leapt forward, bouncing off the wooden floorboards. Six braced themselves with semi-mechanical scarlet arms, and she slammed hers against them.

They pushed against the other, and Six could see the feral expression wrinkle her nose and cause her pupils to dilate as she pressed forward. She was beginning to melt their gloves, and they cracked their prongs, electricity blasting her back a few feet – she staggered slightly, panting a little from the strain of the fight.

It was Six’s turn now. With a powerful kick to the chest the fire-girl was sent backwards, bare feet burning the floorboards as she skid, and Six took a moment to thank TiTAN for their legs.

They plowed forward and tried to shove the prongs against her face, but she dodged – rubble dusted over them both as the metal prongs and part of their arm buried into the old stone. Although they initially missed her face, a swath of the garnet cloth that concealed her face was singed to pieces as lightning danced along her cheek.

Sharp teeth and molten skin greeted them, her face like the sun itself.

They blinked owlishly. “You’re a vengess,” they realized aloud in pure astonishment, and her mouth twisted in anger, brows furrowing as she punched their arm out of the wall, prongs still between their fingertips. She slammed both her hands on the smooth metal of their breastplate and the propulsion caused them both to jerk the same direction, and she slammed her feet onto their stomach to launch off of their armored torso.

They bit back a shout of pain and with the hand not holding the prongs, they caught onto her foot as she tried to propel off of them. She made a strangled noise as they clamped onto her ankle and spun her through the air like a wrecking ball, smashing ancient pews into pieces as wood splinters danced bronze in the air. They tried to swing her into the far wall, but she caught herself on the flats of her hands and pressed her body against the white wall instead of crashing against it.

The speed of it caused the violet flowers to lose their petals, breaking off and spinning, and as the dark wine colored leaflets danced around them, Six could see her glance up in that split moment.

Her face was twisted in pure wrath, pretty red lips spread in a sneer to show bronze teeth. Her eyes flickered like molten gold, her rope of fiery hair whipping around her like a tail. Violet flower petals danced around her painfully bright form, framing her like a picture.

Six felt their breath halt.

They didn’t know who she was, but _oh_ , they _liked_ her.

She pushed off the wall, attempting to attack again, but Six was prepared. They snapped their electric prongs forward, and before she could try anything else fatal and painful, they shoved them deep into the flesh of her stomach.

She screamed aloud, the pitch high enough to cause their hearing apparatus to spin into white noise as she was electrocuted. White-blue bolts crackled across her skin, and in a last ditch effort she shoved her forehead into the front of their visor. The red screen shattered under her force, and they flinched while burying the prongs deeper into her stomach. She finally went limp, and Six caught her around the front of her shoulders as her knees buckled, pulling the prongs out and shutting them off, retracting them.

“There now,” Six wheezed slightly, shivering. It had been so long since they fought instead of conquered, they trembled in delight. 

However, this girl was a _vengess_. There were implications with her very existence, much less her fighting prowess. She shouldn’t exist.

The scavengers killed all the vengess when they ate their planet’s core. No one was spared.

They leaned her backwards, her hair winding underneath herself as they laid her on her back and catalogued her stomach wound. They doubted any of their previous blows would do any permanent damage, but the electrocution could certainly leave a lasting mark.

They pulled her beige shirt up to inspect the wound, only to find the mottled flesh was healing. The skin began to knit itself back together, and the branching burns ebbed and twisted into her usual molten shade.

“What…?” Six breathed, tentatively prodding at her stomach with the tips of their fingers. They pulled out their scanner to see if there were internal injuries they should worry about, but the screen was flickering with impossible numbers.

An idea hit them, and they waved the scanner over her unconscious form, and the mechanism chimed white.

She was the core they had been searching for.

Her energy levels rivalled that of the ancient’s planet core, and Six barked a laugh. This just kept getting better and better! They clipped their taser against their hip and hooked an arm under her knees, the other under her shoulders. As they stood, her head tilted back and revealed her third eye, hidden behind bangs before – there was a scar through it, healed shut. They gave her a curious glance, eyes sketching over her furrowed brows and pursed lips in her knocked-out state.

Her hair dragged along the ground when they started to walk, and being slightly nettled by the thought of ruining such a magnificent mane of bound fire, they leaned down on one knee and pinched a link of hair between two fingers before standing back up.

They took one final glance around the abandoned building, now in worse condition than before, and shrugged slightly.

They stepped out and all the scavengers in the area saw them approach the ship. An unspoken command went out, and all the dark, mechanical beasts formed back into ranks, trained to wait.

“The search is over,” they announced, holding the vengess outstretched like a trophy “the core has been found.”

The scavengers trilled, eyes nictating as they internally cheered in the hive-mind. This meant they could return to the main base.

TiTAN would be so pleased.

Six pulled the vengess back into their arms, brushing her fiery bangs out of her face.

So pleased.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

_Get up._

Ava twitched, her stomach throbbing. Her fingers tingled, and she had a headache that made her want to head-butt something.

**_Get up._ **

Her eyes snapped open and she shut them instantly, hissing from the burning light only a few inches from her face. Her stomach protested when she tried to sit up, and she had to prop herself up on her elbows first.

_Where are we?_

Ava looked up, blinking the shadows from her eyes.

She was in a metal alcove of some sort, and looking around the inner side, she found a metal niche meant to serve as a bed. The entire place was made of sleek black metal, and rivulets of red energy and wire stuck between the plates.

She pulled her skirt down as she looked the other way. There was an energy field, pulsing in bright red waves, and when she touched it with the pads of her fingers it zapped her.

She was in a cell.

‘ _We’re in a Cell, father_ ,’ she replied mentally, squinting as the red energy dispersed. It was still there – but it was almost clear, she could see out.

_You’ve gotten us captured, you clumsy idiot. To think I raised a daughter so sloppy…_

She winced, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples with her forefingers. ‘ _It had a_ weapon _, father._ ’

 ** _NO EXCUSES._** She sucked in a breath and tried to ignore the sharpness prickling throughout her form. _Get us out. Do you have the florem mortem?_

She ran her fingers through the folds in her dress, and found the flowers still safely stashed between her skirts.

_Good. When we escape-_

‘ _Wait_ ,’ she thought suddenly, scarlet eyes narrowing and adjusting to the dim lighting ‘ _someone’s coming_.’

The form was a little blurry through the energy fluxuations, but she could see a head of startlingly blue hair and dull crimson eyes.

“You’re awake,” they pointed out, stopping and crossing their hands behind their back. With the darkness of the ship and the dull shine of their armor, the only reason she could see them was because of their paper white face and hair. They blended seamlessly into the shadows otherwise.

She didn’t reply. Ava hadn’t spoken to them yet, and she certainly wasn’t going to now.

“You’re a vengess,” they continued. “A _very_ rare specimen you are. We thought we eliminated all of them years ago – but you’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?”

Ava sat up a little, ignoring the way her stomach shivered, and she simply glared, ducking her face into the massive scarf she had wrapped about her.

“Not a talker? You’re not mute, I heard you scream when I electrocuted you.”

Ava leapt to her feet and thrust her hand out to the energy field. It crackled and shrieked around her hand, and pain shot up her arm in the form of electric tendrils up her flesh as her claws were ricocheted back. She hissed under her breath as smoke came off of her burned palm in dark coils.

The figure had taken a step back from her attack, and even though they were on the other side of the energy field, they were still intimidated.

“You continue to be rude,” they laughed slightly, though it was muffled from the mask affixed across their mouth. “Do you know who I am?”

Ava pulled her lips back to flash bronze teeth and growl gutturally from under her breath.

“ _Savage_.” The figure stepped forward again, black heels clicking on smooth metal. “My name is Scavenger Six,” they introduced, smoothly running a hand down the red _S_ symbol on their front, bowing slightly with an inclined head.

Ava felt her gut drop.

“And you, dear core, have been captured by TiTAN and the Scavengers.” Her shock must have shown on her face, because they laughed again, eyes crinkling in delight. “Ah yes, you’re just what I need.”

Ava paced her cell and whipped her hair around violently like a wild animal, before smacking the energy wall again and glaring. Her hand was already healing itself, burnt flesh pulling together while skin grew over smooth mends.

“Yes, you must be wondering why I captured you. You see, TiTAN wants to rebuild his world, and for that he needs a core that will rival that of the ancient worlds.” They stepped mere inches away from the field, and their hair almost looked indigo through the redness of the energy field. “A core is something that produces constant heat, that cannot be depleted, and that can provide massive amount of energy.”

Ava hissed and bared her teeth, knuckles rolling as claws twitched.

_Good girl._

“Did you know you’re immortal?” Scavenger Six ran a hand down their throat. “And you reach impressive temperatures?”

Ava put two and two together.

“ _You_ will be our new core.” They turned around and gestured grandly to the other empty cells and the high ceiling, all lined with scarlet and inky blacks, running into Ava’s vision wetly. “We’ll simply strip you of your outer muscular system, leaving the nervous system and skeletal structure intact – and after lacing some conduits into your heart and other organs, you’ll work beautifully!”

They spun around, as though dancing to some music Ava wasn’t hearing.

_Scavengers. The vultures of the universe – but powerful. Find a way out of this, daughter. Time is short until someone finds the relic._

Ava steadied herself. ‘ _Yes, Gaveen_.’ He receded into the confines of her mind, only accessible through dreams.

She had to get out of this, and she began looking around the inner workings of her cell for any weak points.

“Perhaps if _you_ had won our little duel, you would have-”

Ava spoke. Her voice was rough from lack of use, and her canines made her Vengess accent even stranger. “You didn’t win.”

She didn’t turn around, but Six had stopped, looking at her curiously. “You’re in my cell on my ship. How does that justify as you winning?”

“You cheated.” She turned to face them, her braid tickling the backs of her knees as she crossed her arms and glowered. “I didn’t have to use a _weapon_ to take down my opponent.”

Six blinked owlishly. “I simply used what materials I had on hand-”

“ _Cheated_ ,” she interrupted, and continued to feel around the corners of her cell, the warm tips of her clawed fingers tracing the plates.

She could feel Six watching her carefully, eyes trained on her back. “You can’t get out, you know.”

She laughed, and it shattered the air around them both. Six didn’t realize they were trembling at first, until she turned around her eyes focused on the General with tight pupils, eyes a wash of gold and amber.

“You had better hope not,” she breathed, wisps of cinders blowing out between her teeth “because if I get out you’ll have more trouble with me than with the _entire_ Vengess race.”

She sat down on the metal niche that would be used as her bed and said nothing further.

She heard Six murmur something before leaving.

“Fascinating.”

()()()()()()

Six often watched her through the security cameras, glimpsed at her when they were repairing their all-terrain legs as they wore the less complicated substitutes. Once, as they passed down the hall that lined the cell-block, they hesitated a moment.

She sat still, curled in the fetal position while she slept, hair wrapped under her head like a pillow and scarf like a blanket.

It was so strange that a creature so fierce slept like the most submissive of animals. She was fire and heat and _wrath_ \- but when she was alone she was the most afraid.

She was such a mystery.

When they were contemplating such a thought, one of the other scavenger drones had brought Six their repaired legs. Oh, what they wouldn’t give for the repairing systems Marverde went through. That boy had bone and muscle repaired while Six had to work with _prosthetic_ legs.

They shrugged to themselves as they unhooked the circulatory systems from the pair of legs they were wearing, unclasping them as air hissed. Their legs went limp as they set them aside for the repaired ones, simply sitting in the hallway as the Scavenger handed the legs over.

These legs were durable, made for fighting and terrains on other planets. Not all places were as forgiving as the smooth metal floors of the Scavenger’s ship.

They hooked the legs on and sighed in relief when they moved as commanded. This pair had a habit of getting twitchy, but they were fixed now.

Six stood and the Scavenger followed as they made their way down to the engine room.

()()()()()()()

Ava watched in curiosity as Six walked out of sight of the slim entrance of the hallway.

‘ _Father_ ,’ she thought to her mind-companion ‘ _the scavenger has fake legs_.’

_No doubt lost in some accident. Think nothing of it – for now, we must focus on the vial’s completion. How many of the supplies do you have on you currently?_

Ava felt across her skirts and hidden pockets of her gloves. ‘ _Most of it, except I need the wolvesbane and equalizing crystals. Plus the pot and stir spoon_ ,’ she added suddenly.

_…Daughter._

_‘Yes, father?’_

_Where is our ship?_

Ava felt a chill go down her spine as she recalled where she must have left it last. The dying planet. No doubt the planet had been thrown into the nearby gas giant by this point, and she angrily ran her hands down her face, claws biting into her skin but leaving no marks.

“If that _stupid_ TiTAN worshipping scavenger hadn’t been so eager to kiss that fake god’s ass-!”

_Calm down, daughter! You’re making a fool of yourself by speaking aloud, and I won’t sit for another minute of your humiliation of the Ire family._

She restrained herself, skin prickling as fury danced over her nerves.

_We have most of the supplies already. Get what you can._

Scarlet eyes glinted in the dark as she looked around.

_We’ll make the vial here._

()()()()()()()

Six found themselves continually drawn back to the Vengess girl. She didn’t speak much, at first, especially after cajoling her to say _anything_ – and she refused to eat what food rations they gave her, in spite of how hollow her stomach must have been. They weren’t sure what she did with the metal platters or eating utensils, only that nothing remained and her energy levels hadn’t risen at all.

“How stubborn can a Vengess _be_?” Six had questioned as they stood in front of her cell.

She shrugged and looked back at the metal floor, lips forming words they couldn’t hear. It was like she was talking to someone, but it was just the two of them – Marverde hadn’t visited the Vengess, and the hivemind prevented any profound speech from the other scavengers.

“Hmn. I suppose you’d have to be stubborn if you survived the Scavenger attack on Vengess PRIME. Here I thought no survivors were left behind-”

“I wasn’t there,” she interrupted softly, voice carrying delicately between them, almost lost in the hum of the energy field.

“What?”

She didn’t respond, only looked off to the far wall, thinking deeply.

Six tapped their foot. They could be patient, but talking to her was like squeezing blood from a stone, except she was white-hot and impossible to touch. It was frustrating.

“You know, I don’t have the faintest idea what your name is,” Six commented to the empty silence, filled only by the pulsing rumble of the ship and the fizzing of the energy wall that sealed the vengess in her room.

“…Ire.”

Six blinked.

That was the last name of the former Vengess King, who had been usurped by Nanezgani.

“Ah, so you were Gaveen’s child. Here I thought Nanezgani had killed all of Wrathia’s first offspring, along with the former King himself.”

“You thought wrong.” She traced her blinded third eye with the delicate tip of her claw. “Though, he certainly tried.”

Six shifted their weight onto their other leg. “No wonder you weren’t on Vengess PRIME during the event. You were _exiled_ , weren’t you?” She looked away, shoulders taut. “What a poor lost sheep,” they drawled in a faux sympathetic voice, and Ire snapped around.

Her eyes were blazing again, nose wrinkled as she pulled her lips up to snarl. “Speak not of affairs you barely understand, _cyborg_.”

That word hit a nerve.

Six took a step forward, mechanical vocal chords going scratchy with their volume. “What do you know about that?!”

Ire stood in response, and they glared between a crackling energy field.

“You think I can’t see beyond the confines of my cell, but I am not blinded by bars.” Her voice went sharp and hurt Six’s synthetic ears. “You don’t have legs, do you?”

They crossed their arms. “And how would you come to that conclusion?”

Ire flashed an eerie smile, lips pulling upwards as she paced backwards a bit, hair swinging like a taunt. “I saw you. When you crossed that hallway. I saw.” They scowled. “I saw your… less _advanced_ legs.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You wouldn’t be so defensive if I wasn’t right.” Her skin flickered and brightened dangerously, molten skin showing her fury, and Six took their leave.

“I won’t be criticized by an endangered species,” they announced as they exited out the door, and Ava snarled again as they passed down the gridded hallway. They were lined by wires and sparking cords, and they illuminated Six’s blue hair starkly against the shadows of the ship.

There was the low scrape of claws and a dragging noise. Six turned as a Scavenger skittered up to them, single scarlet eye blinking as it identified them. “ **General** ,” it crackled, hiss of a voice “ **TiTAN wishes to speak with you**.”

Six raised an eyebrow and followed the Scavenger while it walked along, crouched over on its haunches as they made their way through the dark, sparking tunnels of the ship to the main communicator room.

A round room filled with various screens filled Six’s sight, all of them flickering with white noise and static. The scavenger already squatting in the room clicked its claws along a few datapads before the screens synced to show a single picture.

TiTAN’s visage stared back at Six.

Beautiful, powerful TiTAN.

“ ** _Six_** ,” he rumbled. “ ** _You have a core_**.”

Six nodded. “You’ve received my messages.”

“ ** _Yes_** ,” the mountain of a creature mused, blinking slowly. Even through the static Six could see the thin circuitry that ran up and down his head, delicate and complicated as an insect wing. “ ** _I’ve been keeping track of the energy on your ship. It spiked mere moments ago._** ”

Six went tense, folding their hands behind their back and straightening up. “I had a… small discussion with the Vengess.”

TiTAN laughed, and Six felt shivers down their spine. “ **Argued _, did you? Well, that’s what we need. You need to invoke an emotion that causes the Vengess to heat up, do anything to make her react. The more energy produced, the more we can use her as a core._** ”

Six thought carefully. “Anything?”

“ ** _Any method required. I will meet with you soon_** ,” TiTAN bid, and the screens flickered into black.

Six thought of several ways to make her energy levels rise. Fighting, but they doubted she would comply to that, considering they had apparently cheated. Arguments involved discussion, and they did love hearing her voice, but it was irritating that she won those.

They exited and passed through the ship-bay. It was filled with splinter shaped black ships, all Scavenger vessels eager to tear into the core of a planet – and then one other.

It was a tiny, miniscule vessel of a ship. When Six had taken the scavenger girl, they had also taken her ship as well, in an attempt to understand her better.

It was full of garbage, and they left it in the bay for later.

Six passed stopped as they thought of something.

Lips pulled into a smile behind a smooth mask.

This would be fun.

()()()()()()()

Ava blinked, uncertain if the figure approaching her was one of her psyche or reality - only to put her fingers to her forehead and rub her blind eye in irritation. “It’s just  _you_ ,” she sneered, baring her teeth and leaning herself against the far wall.

The energy field flickered around the edges, showing the gridlock pattern of her cell. From the outside, Scavenger Six put a hand on their hip, looking the last Vengess over with a critical eye.  
“Tired of me already?” they asked playfully.

Ava sighed, looking back to the far edges of her cell. This was not good. Her supplies were all on her ship, and it took almost a full year of dedication to smelt the cursed pot so it could produce the wine correctly. She could try it in here, with the metal she had steadily collected from the plates she melted of the tasteless nutrition rations they gave her, but she would still have to speak the proper chants while shaping it, and she wasn’t privy to the idea of staying a year in this cell.

“You seem deep in thought,” Six noted, the only creature here that had yet spoken with her.

“I have a lot to think about,” she replied, not looking at them. They always looked so smug all the time. Bastard.

“Like what?” they implored, still standing. They looked patient, and it was enough to make her scream because that meant they were going to stand there and speak useless drivel until she gave in and told them something remotely interesting.

She exhaled a sharp, angry breath out her nose and glared at them, drumming clawed fingers along her knees.

“I’m thinking about home.”

Six cocked their head, blue hair brushing the edges of their cheeks. “Home? Vengess PRIME was destroyed.”

“My ship.” She sighed and leaned her head back, hitting her head on the wall she was sitting against. “I had things in there.”

“What sorts of things?”

She closed her eyes, and surprisingly enough, her mouth thinned into the faintest smile. Six was caught off guard by it, and looked around the room for a moment to get their eyes off of her.

“My favorite flowers. A pot and spoon from my father. Blankets. Pictures of a better time. Recipes for my favorite foods, and yards of my favorite cloths.” She sounded at peace, for a short moment, thinking of textures Six had never felt and landscapes they had never seen. “Some of my favorite music. All sorts of things.”

_You are foolish to reveal so many personal things about yourself. They could use that against you._

She opened her eyes and spotted the ceiling. Her mouth dropped into a frown, eyebrows furrowing. “If you hadn’t kidnapped me I would still have my ship and all my precious things.”

Six gathered themselves. “I, too, collect things that I find interesting.”

Ava looked mildly interested. “Oh, like what?”

They stared at her steadily, and she blinked.

“I have an appreciation for beauty,” they murmured, eyes sketching over her form. Ava may have lived on the violent edges of space for nearly a decade, but she was not stupid. She understood what they were implying.

Her face lit up like a bellowing fire, pupils tight as magma churned under her skin. “Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth you snake!” she snarled, though the strange Vengess blush was still prominent across her face, down the scarred skin of her arms and making her claws look like candle-flame.

Six was dazzled for a moment. Flirting with her may have been a tactic to absorb the energy she let off, but they did not regret the pleasure derived from it.

Lights poured from her skin across the black metal, giving everything a golden hue. She was bright enough that when Six blinked, shadows crept behind their eyes.

Oh, she was beautiful.

They were not lying about that.

“My forked tongue and I will leave you then,” Six had replied to her flustered scowl, and they stopped just outside the doorway to catch their breath. They hadn’t expected her to be so stunning when she was passionate, when she was alive.

“Scavenger Six?” The General looked up to see the leading Doctor on board, there to patch the Scavengers up when needed. Marverde’s skin was sky blue, and mottled with twisting blacks and scars from when he had been submerged in the acid ocean. The Scavengers had decided to take him, see if they could make another Scavenger organic besides Six – and it worked. They had replaced bone and muscle, fixed him up to be functioning.

Marverde’s mouth split into a smile. His teeth were black, as most of his bones needed to be reconstructed after the acid ate most of his body away.

He considered the Scavengers his family for ‘saving him’ and no one ever brought up that they killed him in the first place. He probably didn’t know. He was only a child when it happened.

Six straightened themselves out, sobering instantly. “Yes, Marverde? Something the matter?”

“I was about to ask the same of you,” he replied, cocking his head a little and staring at Six with neon eyes. “You were pretty dark in the face – are you at all injured, or sick?”

“Sick?” Six repeated, and they laughed faintly, looking back through the open doors to look at Ire.

She sat silently, fiddling with the end of her hair.

“You could call it that,” they replied, eyes trained to her form. Scavengers didn’t get sick, but Six could admit that being love-sick was as good as any illness.

()()()()()()()()

Ava didn’t sleep often. It wasn’t a time of solace when the ogre of a father was there to scold her and remind her of every mistake he had been there to witness.

Her eyes opened slowly, heavily – she hated speaking to Gaveen. The sooner she found the ancient’s relic, the better.

However, she smelled something faintly sweet in the air.

Sitting up, she was surrounded by some of the items she had left on her ship. Her favorite cloth sat in a folded pile across her bed, papers in one corner – her heart stopped when she spotted Gaveen’s cauldron and mixing spoon. There were a few sleek black bags that had some of her other personals, like crystals and herbs.

She turned, spotting Six standing awkwardly outside the energy field.

“I – ah – took your ship, before we left the dying planet.” They cleared their throat, and Ava could almost swear they looked anxious, had she been able to see their mouth through that mask. “I thought, considering it takes a few weeks to get from the rim of space to TiTAN’s base… you may as well make yourself comfy.”

She blinked owlishly as her arms wrapped around the metal cauldron. “You… for me?”

They nodded slowly.

She had the supplies for the vial, now.

Her mouth split into a bronze smile, eyes brightening with delight as she set the pot aside and buried her face in her favorite cloth. She laughed aloud, fingers twisting into the soft fibers.

“I take it you are pleased?” Six implored cautiously.

Her voice held a touch of venom that Six could not identify. “ _Very_.” The tone of her voice was still laced with glee, and it was enough to make their heart beat hard behind sleek black armor.

“Then _… I_ am pleased.” They turned to walk away.

“Ava.”

Six stopped, looking back. She was smiling gently – a smile for them. “Excuse me?”

“My first name.”

Six’s hands were trembling. “Ava it is, then.” They nodded to her slightly before exiting, trying to control the thrumming in their chest.

Ava ran her fingers across the cauldron.

_Perhaps you were not too foolish, daughter._

She laughed.

()()()()()()()()()()()

From outside the door, Marverde glared into the room, stomach twisting with hate as he stared at Ava Ire, the exiled princess.

“Gil,” Nevy asked, his personal guide “what’s wrong?”

“That core is trouble,” he muttered.

“Why?” She blew a few bubbles, and he felt himself calm a little. His mouth tasted metallic as he gathered his words.

“Nothing,” he finally announced, turning around and sighing, tousling a hand through silver hair. In truth, Six was the only other Scavenger organic on the ship, besides Gil himself. That meant that they were both special, both chosen by TiTAN.

They should both be together.

Ava Ire was getting in the way.


	2. Getting Closer

“Why don’t you believe me when I tell you you’re beautiful?” Six watched her from outside her cage.

Ava had a wooden pipe wedged between her teeth – the taste of flowers sticks to her tongue, violet cinders dance around her head in a halo as she stirs a mottled spoon into an equally mottled chamber pot. It boils and froths, thick as magma, glowing, but it shimmers and sparks, a curse tainting every spoonful.

The Vial must be completed – the Scavengers assume it to be a Vengess cuisine. They are wrong, as her father predicted.

She exhales, lavender tendrils curling from her mouth.

Her father predicted many things.

()()()()()()()

_“My girl,” Gaveen used to say when she was small. When she was a child. When she loved her family. When she loved her home. “My girl,” he had said, and brought hands across her shoulders and cheeks, smiling faintly, his black hair pulled into a bun._

_“May I go play with the other children?” she had always asked, always hoping in vain._

_His hands would drop, golden eyes looking aside as his lips pursed. She followed his gaze to her mother – beautiful, powerful mother – Wrathia was speaking with the Captain of the guard again._

_Captain Nanezgani. He had cold red eyes, and Ava had always clung to her father as though he could protect her._

_“No, Ava,” he murmured. “No.”_

_“Why not?” She had finally questioned, wondering why she could not go and see the maid’s children, why she could not leave the walls of her castle. She wondered and pondered and played inside, always, and it was enough to pressure her into questioning her ogre of a father. “Why not?”_

_Once again, almost blue hands touched her face – her cheeks, with splotches of discolored skin, her mouth always twisted strangely, her eyes too big and bright but not at all beautiful – and her gaze dropped._

_She always knew why, but the silence hurt, as did the wry smile on his face._

_“My ugly girl,” he had said, patting her head with what might have been affection. “Stay away from the captain, my girl.”_

_His girl._

()()()()()()()()

“Why won’t I believe you?” She tapped the burnt innards of the pipe into the concoction nestled on her lap, the magma swallowing the florem mortem ashes till it was unseen among the glow. “Because I know it’s not true – liars always say nice things.”

Six glanced up to her and sighed. They had red eyes too, but theirs were flat, like a shadow instead of a flame. They had white skin, paler than the girls in the court she had remembered back on Vengess PRIME, whiter than the flash of bone under her fingertips when she fought to survive. They ran a black clad hand through snow-blue hair, the locks like a pocket of winter, cool and cold on their head – delicate and garish in comparison to the inky black ship around them.

Six was beautiful. Six was very beautiful.

Beauty like that was never truly natural – because natural beauty was so rarely identified as beautiful at all.

Ava dropped her eyes back to the cauldron and continued stirring.

“Beauty is relative, you know,” Six continued talking, and she knew why. There were so few to talk to when you weren’t apart of the Scavenger hive mind that it hurt, sometimes, to be surrounded and be completely alone. She knew how that felt, and sympathized internally. “What one may see as ugly someone else will see as beautiful.”

She snorted and continued chew on the end of her father’s old wooden pipe – it tasted of the old spices from PRIME, of wood burnt and lost to the scavengers. “You’re not talking about relativity – you’re talking about perspective. Relativity is the range in which someone can be beautiful, acceptably, in everyone’s eyes.” She continued stirring the pot, magic dust clinging to her wrists, up her elbows, making her hair curl and eyelashes stick together. “You’re talking about a certain area of perfection.”

Six cleared their throat, looking away. She must have hit a nerve, and she waited for them to say something, because being alone you always had something to say. She knew she did.

 _What petty words_ , Gaveen noted from her mind, and she said nothing in reply. _What ridiculous words the Scavenger speaks._ He had receded to the back of her mind, resting, always tired. Spirits were always tired, always agitated. She found that out the hard way.

Six looked back to her, still standing rigidly. “Do you think I’m perfect?” Ava had quirked a brow then, flexing one of her hands that had grown stiff under stirring the spoon. “I mean – have I reached that range?”

Pressure and confined spaces always drove Ava to ask questions that otherwise would have sat in her throat, dark and unspoken. “Why? Do you doubt that you are?”

“I don’t have legs.”

“Completion does not equal perfection,” she replied without thinking, absorbed in her task of continuing the Vial. “You’re fine as you are.”

A silence filled the room, though it wasn’t of anger or frustration. She didn’t notice Six staring at her, eyes wide, shoulders trembling. She didn’t notice how they had to swallow hard and look the other way, cheeks damp.

“No one has ever told me that before,” they muttered, voice low enough not to crack.

“Then you’re not talking to the right people,” she replied, again, speaking without Gaveen’s influence. When he wasn’t watching her, she spoke what she felt, and it was almost addicting. She had to quit that soon, or she’d slip around her father. “Which brings me back to our first topic – go converse with your own.”

They laughed a little. “Philosophical and then cynical? You _are_ a rarity, Ava Ire.” They spoke like she was a collector’s item, something expensive dug up from a garbage heap. It made her want to break through the energy wall and wrap claws around their throat and _scream_.

_My girl._

Exiled or not, Vengess Princesses do not scream and howl aloud in anger, especially if you’re an Ire. She kept her mouth shut and kept working, kept up on her cursed drink.

“I’m glad you’re on my ship,” Six stated softly, and it was enough to make Ava laugh bitterly.

“I’m sure.”

She watched Six as they walked away, and wondered what they thought of their own beautiful visage.

()()()()()()()()

 _“My Six,” TiTAN had cooed while the Scavengers pieced together their legs, cutting rotting flesh aside and pulling skin over a raw wound. They couldn’t feel – they knew they were there, they felt the legs there – they couldn’t feel them, it was like they were numb but nothing – they couldn’t_ feel _–_

_“My Six,” large, rough hands cupped their face, white with shock and sweaty with pain. “My ugly, ugly scavenger. I’ll fix you up, you hear me?”_

_Six had nodded, staring into that single eye, scarlet and burning and dark enough to blot out the movement around them, staring into that one eye._

_“I’ll make you perfect.”_

()()()()()()()

Gil watched Scavenger Six wander away in a love-struck daze. He couldn’t stand for this – being the only two Scavenger Organics, they should have been a pair.

And that Core was getting in the way.

Nevy leaned against his shoulder, watching him with worry. Gil was always someone to worry over, but she wished he would just talk to Six. She blew bubbles in the air and sighed.

“I’m going to talk to her,” Gil decided aloud, pulling down his collar and rolling up his sleeves. Anyone could see the black twisted marks across his skin where the Scavengers patched him up – with Scavenger flesh. His skin was blue and black, the sky and bruises. The scars crept up his face, his bones black and eyes covered with lenses that would control his pupil dilation. Since acid was spilled in his eyes, his pupils could never work right anymore. Bright light hurt to look at.

“I want you to stay away,” he instructed, looking at Nevy. She pouted. “I’ll know if you’re there – and I want to talk to her alone, completely alone. Okay?” He smiled, blacks and blues and burned eyes “It shouldn’t be too long.”

She nodded and decided to wander the ship a little, to watch the Scavengers. She couldn’t figure out why, but they were so chilling…

Gil turned back around to the exile. She was still stirring that pot, muttering under her breath, dressed in rags and surrounded by alien garbage. What was it that Six found so appealing in her?

He wanted to find out.

Gil’s steps were liquid in movement, almost silent as the Scavengers that stalked the dark halls of the ship. However, he wasn’t quiet enough – before he was even near her cell, she looked up with an unimpressed expression.

He stood just outside the energy field, blinking a little. She was too bright – it hurt to look at her with weakened eyes.

The Exile set her pipe aside and slid a lid onto the mottled metal pot in front of her, pushing it aside. She began crushing something dried in a small wooden mixing bowl with a dull wooden stick.

She sighed. “Is there something you want?”

Gil glared. “I don’t suppose you know who I am.”

“Annoying.” She plucked a hair off her head and began grounding it into the bowl as well. What was she even making? “I’m busy, if you could shove off.”

He grinned, flashing black teeth. “You weren’t too busy for Six.”

She was unfazed. “I actually was, they were just too stubborn sticking around, trying to flirt and being a general nuisance, like yourself.” The Exile pulled the lid off of her pot and poured the contents of the bowl in. The cauldron sputtered and burning ashes fluttered out the edges like feathers, searing the ground.

Gil held his ground. She was rude, too bright to even look at properly, barely paid attention – what was it about her that captivated Six?

“I bet you think you’re something special, by having the favor of Six.” He hissed, arms crossed and hair on end – but she stared at him, bored looking.

“According to Six I _am_ something special, considering you’re all going to strip me apart and hook tubes into my organs to power a planet. Six also insists I’m an endangered species – _also_ annoying – but yes, if you’re going by what Six has told me, I am, _apparently_ , something special.” Her voice was grating, vocal chords like metal wire to Gil’s ears. He winced as her volume escalated. “Was there a point you were trying to make?”

“You don’t deserve Six’s company.”

She laughed, and it was a clipped bark. Gil hadn’t been expecting it, and jumped a little.

“Listen kid, I don’t know what wild ideas you’re making in that head of yours, but if it were up to me Six wouldn’t be around me. At all.” The Exile stood, popping her back and nearing the energy field that kept her trapped. “If you want to somehow dissuade them from visiting me, be my guest. In case you had forgotten, they were the one to kidnap me in the first place.” She grinned, flashing bronze teeth and wet red lips pulled aside like an open wound. Gil shuddered. “You forget my purpose for Six bringing me here. The only reason they speak to me is to keep me quiet.”

“What… What do you mean?”

“You give a prisoner a good warden and they won’t beat on the bars.” She turned and gathered some cloth she had in her cell, lumping it like a pillow. “Whatever they’re doing that you find so offensive is just a ruse. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” she stated as she laid down with her back to him.

He stared at her back, blinking owlishly.

She waved a hand. “Also, trying to scare me by showing off your scars is really stupid. I have seen way worse.” With that final comment, it was obvious she was bedding down for the evening.

Gil slowly stepped away from her cell, processing her words.

She hadn’t cared that he had all those scars, that he was so obviously horrible to look at, twisting threads of black vein-work down his arms and up his face, teeth dark and eyes neon. She wasn’t effected in the slightest.

Gil immediately disliked that about her – that meant that she was admirable, for not judging at the surface, and the last thing he wanted to do was admire her in some way.

Even _if_ she was captured by the same people that annihilated her race, and was still keeping a cool head in spite of knowing about her grim fate.

In any other context, she would be considered a hero, warrior – what context made her a bad person?

Because Six liked her. That’s what made her so loathsome, that’s what made her a monster. Somehow, this had to be her fault, but it was painfully obvious how much she hated – or at least thought annoying – she found Scavenger Six.

In his thoughts, leaning up against a wall and running the pads of his fingers over a disfigured face, he hadn’t noticed his guiding spirit wasn’t near him.

()()()()()()()

Nevy couldn’t help but take a peek at what Six was doing. In her time of being a spirit, she found walls to be merely mental barriers – so the door to Six’s bunk was nothing as she glanced inside.

Six had their mask in their hands, cleaning out the filters with swabs and chemicals. They had gloves on, still, but Nevy could see the slender push of their jaw, how pale they seemed in comparison to a ship of shadows. She stared at them, looking around and over their shoulders as they hummed to themselves.

Wait. _Humming_?

She looked over at them, and they didn’t seem to be paying much attention to what they were doing. Their hands were trained by habit to clean the filters, pulling out the grit and dampened dust, flicking the dirtied swabs into a nearby trash bin.

They hummed dreamily, absently, pretty mouth pulled into a quiet smile. They stopped for a moment to lean their chin into their palms, exhaling gently and curling a lock of hair between two fingers, tugging on it before getting back to work.

Nevy stared at them as realization nearly slapped her in the face.

They were in _love_.

She instantly thought of Gil – who else could the Scavenger be in love with, but the only other organic Scavenger? Excitement flushed over her form, and she raced through the darkened halls to find Gil.

He was leaning against a wall, deep in thought.

“Gil!” He jerked in surprise before turning, and smiled a little at seeing his guardian. “Gil, something wonderful has happened!”

“Oh?” He sounded interested, pulling his sleeves back down and covering his scars. “What is it? Are we nearing a planet?”

“No, it’s -” she waved maroon hands over his face, bubbles forming at the edges of her mouth as she smiled in delight. “Six is in love!”

Gil’s expression dropped, and he looked between her eyes in confusion. “What?”

“They’re in love! Oh Gil, it must be with you!” She cradled his face in her hands, and a shadow of doubt flittered across his face.

“But… why would it be me?”

She blinked. “Who else is there to love on board but you?”

She didn’t like the way he looked over his shoulder into the cell-block. She didn’t like the bitter twist in his mouth when he looked at the sleeping Vengess.

Nevy stared at her back, where her hair dangled off the make-shift bed. That hair almost seemed familiar…

She decided to concern herself with Gil instead. The Vengess could wait.

()()()()()()()

_Screams down the hall._

_Ava trips on her feet, looking down the tiles and past the tapestries – it was hard to see in the dark. She trips and falls, but her hands catch her from hitting her face._

_Her hands are damp. The floor smells of iron._

_She reaches out, uncertain, afraid. She is only a girl, but her hands are steady as a seasoned veteran when she fumbles along the floor, her knees dampening and skirts heavy, wet._

_“…hello?” Her voice doesn’t shake, a princess’ voice doesn’t shake, no matter the fear. Hands touch something, stringy, damp. She feels forward – something round, and her fingers hit bone. Horns? She feels along them, pads of her fingers slippery. She feels down a face, feels a third eye._

_Her chest seizes. Her heart squeezes hard, and her shoulders, try as she might – they tremble. It’s a head, someone’s head._

_“No, no…” She reaches down farther, feeling a collarbone and a wreath. No, this couldn’t be right. This must have been a nightmare – even if the smell of blood burned her nose, even if her hands were warm and wet with it – this was a nightmare._

_She was young – but she could try. Forcing her third eye open, like needles through her forehead, she can see shapes, she can see through the dark blanketing the unlit halls._

_She can see she’s sitting in a puddle of blood, and her hands are cradling her father’s head, his torso opened like a rotten melon. He was slaughtered, and by the looks of all the other wounds he sustained, he put up a fight._

_Her voice cracks. “Father?”_

_“Too late.”_

_That voice is familiar. It sends a chill down her spine, enough to make her go ridged. She’s stiff when she turns around, blinking the tears from her eyes as her third eye can identify the figure in the dark._

_Three eyes, glowing red in the shadows._

_She can spot a scar over one eye, curling horns framing his jawline and teeth flashing as bloodstone shards._

_“…Captain Nanezgani?” she whispers._

_She_ trembles _._

_He lunges forward, scythe screaming as it cut through the air, her hands slip as she stumbles backwards over her father’s corpse and she shrieks-_

()()()()()()()

Ava jolted awake, beads of sweat dripping down her brow. Her hands fumble to her forehead, feeling the scarred eye, checking her fingers for blood. Her skin was slick with sweat, and she took a breath, putting her hands over her face.

“Ava?”

That’s what woke her up. She glared and looked between her fingers at whoever was talking to her, fully intending on giving them a lashing, verbal or otherwise.

Six was standing outside the barrier, a hand slightly extended as though to touch her. They pulled back, nervous, and inclined their head. “Is… Is something wrong?”

She considers saying several things – _oh no, I’m just trapped by my own species executioners – oh I’m dandy, I’ve just been kidnapped – please, kindly fuck off_ – but they’re all trapped in her throat when a sob swells behind her ribs. She shuddered in a breath, forcing it out before responding tightly “No. I’m not alright.”

She sat up, fingers touching her temples, as though she could massage the headache out. Ava looks at Six, a tired, heavy frown on her face. “What’re you doing here, anyway?”

They turned, wringing their hands almost anxiously. “You were… you were making noise in your sleep. I heard it from the hall.”

Her stomach twisted, before she responded “I’ll stop making noise.” The statement was not one of submission, but a stale reply. She leaned back down and tried to sleep again, before saying aloud “By the way, you should stop checking up on me so much. One, you’re kidnapping me to kill me anyway, and two, your boyfriend is getting pissed.” She laid back down and stared at the far wall, looking at rivulets of red between black metal panels.

“Boyfriend…?” The confusion in their voice caused her to roll over, and found Six with a hand against their mask. “I don’t understand.”

She snickered. “White hair, blue skin, black scars, talks like a saint?”

Six blinked in realization. “Ah, Marverde. Yes, I know him.” A beat. “Why did you call him my boyfriend? I practically raised him.”

Ava sat up, eyes wide as she choked out a “What?!”

They nodded, pulling fingers through snow-blue hair. “Yes, when we attacked his world, he was dying. We brought him back to life – he was five, I believe?” They folded their hands behind their back. “Being the only organic aboard, it was my duty to bring him up properly.”

She scrunched her nose. “So you’re – you’re like his parent?”

They shrugged. “ _Caretaker_. I feel no emotional attachment to him in any parental right. I simply ensured his future to TiTAN.”

That sounded familiar.

_My girl._

She tensed up. Six noticed.

“Ava, if there’s anything wrong-”

“There’s _nothing_ wrong!” She snarled, pupils like pinpricks as she sat up. “Just – leave me alone!” Six looked genuinely surprised. “Don’t you understand how weird this is? How manipulative this is? You’re marching me to my _fucking death_ and you’re acting like I’m your – like I’m your _friend_.” She stood up and approached the energy shield, her movements predatory, face ducked and back arched, like a beast walking on its haunches. “Am I your pet? Do you like watching me in my _fish-tank,_ Six?”

“No, that’s not – that’s not it,” they protested, backing away a little.

“Then you’d better make it really clear, really soon _exactly_ how you see me, because I’m sick of talking to you. You’re either my warden or my friend, and one of those involves letting me go.” She turned and rubbed her forehead out of habit, feeling the scar. “Go away.”

_Good girl. Make them stay away – they’re in the way. Remember, they’re only using you._

“I don’t think I will,” they replied. Their voice wasn’t smug, per usual when they spoke. It was almost soft. “Why do you keep doing that?”

She sat down, back to them, arms crossed. She pulled the cauldron into her lap and lifted the lid, and a plume of twilight smoke curled from it. Holding it with two hands, Ava stirred the concoction once more with her metal spoon. “Do _what_.”

“You always touch your blinded eye when you’re frustrated.”

She paused. “You picked up on that,” she replied, and her voice was less frustrated than a moment ago. Her movements were a little more sluggish than earlier, her earlier confusion and anxiety from the dream subsiding.

“I’m very attentive about you,” and she felt her heart do a little summersault.

_The Scavenger is just trying to leech off of your energy again, daughter. Remember their tricks._

Ava barked a laugh. “Ask again later,” and she looked over one shoulder to flash a smile “and maybe I’ll tell you.”

Six nodded slowly, before taking hesitant steps back to the call-block doors. Ava felt her father moving inside her head, shifting like water in her ears.

_…If they were to call themselves your friend… would you believe them?_

She knew hesitating would make her father suspicious. _“They are my warden.”_

_And?_

_“You cannot love someone who keeps you trapped,”_ she thought to him, her movements slowing. To herself, she thought, _you have taught me that much._

_Good, daughter. My girl._

Her eyes closed.

She pondered when she could own herself.

()()()()()()()

Six was as good as their word, coming back to the cell block hours later. Ava seemed to have calmed down from her nightmare, whatever she dreamt about. Six recalled they had to calm Marverde when he awoke in the night, frightened by his own implants and yearning for his biological parents.

They slowed as they came to her cell, and she was leaned against a wall, her chin to her collarbone. Her face was hidden in her scarf.

They weren’t sure what to ask her. Usually, questions came fluidly to them, without hesitance or previous thought. They were curious about her at first, and fascinated. She was something new and something rare, so Six had automatically wanted to know everything they could.

However, it was made clear to them through rapier remarks and sharp glares that she was not one to be dissected into numbers and qualities.

Scavengers were cold, calculative, and thoughtless. They understood results, not consequences.

Ava was so different. She lived her life by experience, by touch and smell, by music and sweet flowers. She had memories, albeit bitter – but she made it obvious that her memories were hers and by no means was she to be defined by her appearance.

Six couldn’t say the same for themselves.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Ava asked, and Six jolted a little. She had a way of sneaking up on them, without even moving.

“I… You said you would tell me the reason behind your habit.” They gestured to their forehead. “When you touch your blind eye.”

She looked up, face revealed behind a scarf. She stared at them for a moment, as though listening for something – her eyes sketched over their face, looking between their eyes, it made them swallow hard – and when she was satisfied, she turned a little to face them. Her hair swung like a taunting tail.

“Are you my friend?” Her voice was accusatory.

They straightened out. “I’d like to be.”

Ava glared. “Prove it. Let me go.”

They felt nauseous, and their synthetic ears went flat against their skull. “I can’t. I _have_ to serve TiTAN.”

“Would you let me go, otherwise?” She paced her cell like a wild animal. It was unnerving. “If TiTAN suddenly said ‘ _we don’t need her’_ would you let me go?”

Six felt the words slip between their lips before they could think otherwise.

“Would you come back to me?”

Ava stared at them, and Six realized something that had never occurred to them before. They relished in the power of having Ava in one place, to find her and speak with her – but they never realized how much they relied on keeping her. They loved having her to themselves, loved having this precious pearl of ferocious life to lean on.

Ava made Six want to feel again.

“Open the cell, Six,” she said lowly. They felt their hand shift, fingers twitching, as though their body was already about to follow through with her order.

 _My ugly, ugly Scavenger._ The memory brought them beyond the fire, out of reach.

“Really, Ava?” They felt the fake mirth slip back into their voice. “If I opened up this gate you’d slip through my fingers like a ghost.” She twitched at the term. “Try again next time, Vengess.”

“So I’m nothing but my species again?” She turned and looked away from them, disappointed. They felt a pang of guilt, and couldn’t figure out why.

“Don’t be difficult, Ava,” they tutted. “I serve TiTAN first and foremost.”

Ava sat and began tapping her claws on the metal floor, as though anxious and bored. Was she going stir crazy? “You do anything TiTAN tells you to do?”

“Of course.” What an absurd question.

“Why?”

She looked to them expectantly, and all at once they’re drowning in gold and scarlet. It takes them a moment to respond. “I cannot fail them.”

“Or what? Will he beat you to death or Exile you?” She sounded earnest, not sarcastic in any way, and Six had to remember that she’s a Vengess, and was raised as such. They shifted, anxious. They hadn’t ever really addressed this part of their life before.

“If he is ever disappointed in me… If he considers me to be useless…” they looked downwards, eyes narrowed to the floor “…I could not stand it.”

They stared at their feet, constructed of metal and flexible acrylic. Their legs seemed to dull as they stared at them, not as grand as they saw them previously. What changed?

_I’m going to make you perfect._

They closed their eyes, thinking of TiTAN – he needed the old relic and the Vengess. One out of two were in their possession. They were so close to earning TiTAN’s love. So close.

“I can understand that.” Six’s eyes snapped open and they looked up to Ava. She was looking at the ceiling, and she lit up the pipe again, exhaling lavender smoke, watching as cinders rose above her. “Expectations are a heavy burden.”

“TiTAN is _not_ a burden,” they contradicted a little too loudly.

She didn’t look over to them, eyes fixated on the smoke. “Then why are you afraid?”

They choked on their words. Afraid of TiTAN? Afraid of their Savior? Maybe in awe, in inspiration, in worship, but afraid of the one they held so dearly to their heart?

**_Do not fail me, Six._ **

They felt a shiver down their spine, and denied the feeling of dread that crept up their gut. No, they were not – they _weren’t_ afraid of TiTAN. They weren’t! This Vengess was twisting things around, manipulating them-

“You love TiTAN, right?”

They laughed breathily, confusion and panic pushed to the background. “Of course.”

“Of _course_ ,” she muttered. “Well of _course_ you’d be afraid of him. No need to look so destroyed over there.”

Six took a few paces closer to her cell, curious. “I’m… not following.”

She exhaled, mouthful of violet. They could see sharp teeth all the way to the back of her mouth, molars sharp, fire in her lungs making her throat light up. “If you love someone, they already have your heart. They can use you, they can kill you simply by saying something, because you want to please them. Right?” She glanced over to them, and they nodded, fully comprehending what she was saying. “If you love someone, you fear them too.”

“You seem well acquainted in these affairs.”

She laughed bitterly. “Only in fear. Not in love.”

Six felt strange, standing while she sat – so they leaned down and sat on the floor, legs crossed as they talked to her.

They wanted to open the cell and sit next to her. They wanted to run their hands through her hair and smell the smoke and touch her skin and listen to her whisper inches away and feel her hands on their face-

Six cleared their throat. “Never in love? Why not?”

“Who would love me?” Her question was quiet, and her voice was like white noise, scratchy and high pitched. With her head thrown back to stare at the smoke, they could see the slender contours of her face, see the exposed fire of her throat. Her hair sat around her in a frayed rope, bright as the sunset and twice as vivid.

She was so beautiful. She was so real, and alive.

It was almost enough to make them pull the energy shield down.

Almost.

“About my third eye,” she spoke very doggedly, as though weighed down by something “I was wounded when I was exiled by Nanezgani.”

“Ah,” they perked with interest “the Vengess King.”

“Not when I knew him.” She blew a ring of smoke into the air, and it dissipated as it grew larger by the distance. “When I knew him, he was the captain of the Guard.” She paused a moment. “He was… strong. Not as strong as my father, but he knew strategy. Killed him.”

“Nanezgani killed Gaveen Ire, I heard of that several years ago, yes,” they recalled aloud to themselves, looking over Ava. She did look a bit like Empress Bellarmina, but she was blatantly her own person.

“You know what happens after that, right?” She tapped the ashes of the pipe into her open palms, and the black cinders didn’t burn her. She rolled them between her hands, watching as it left black streaks across her skin. “The new King gets to kill all the last King’s offspring.”

Six watched her, how she nervously rolled her hands together. “So he tried to kill you?”

“He got pretty close,” she muttered. “Got my eye, few other injuries.”

“Why didn’t he kill you?”

She planted a black handprint on the wall. “He couldn’t. I’m stronger than him.”

Six made a muffled, coughing noise in astonishment. “What – you were stronger than the King? As a child?”

She smiled faintly. “Yes.” Six wondered how lucky they must have been to have cheated with their shock prod, looking at her. “Unfortunately, my eye is blinded to most things. Practically useless, now.”

Six shifted and leaned against the wall that made up a little of the outside of her cell. “Bit of a disability?” She nodded, pulling her scarf back over her face. “Well, I should know how that feels. Being legless is a bit of a dampener on common movements.”

“I bet you could walk on your hands,” she commented.

“I can,” they replied with an inkling of pride “but say, doing hopscotch or dancing would be somewhat difficult.”

Her voice was lined with laughter when she next asked “…did you just try to make a joke?”

“Ah, I try and fail,” they fake lamented, running a hand over their eyes in a dramatic movement “oh what lengths I go to for a laugh and instead my ulterior motive has been revealed!”

Ava laughed, head thrown back and exhaling, magma illuminating her skin and making her shine, lips pulled back and shoulders trembling. “You’re a real ass, you know that?”

They were stunned for a moment, the visage of her laughing face echoing in front of them. They responded with a tremor “Ah – maybe?”

She sighed, a smile still playing at her lips. They watched her, not wanting to move – they wanted to keep talking with her, and keep talking about her.

A Scavenger drone scuttled on jutting, black feet across the cell block. Six stood and waited for it to near. It stopped just short of their feet, and it pulled back onto two legs, sharp black edges almost invisible in the darkness of the ship, single eye swiveling in its socket. “ **General** ,” it crooned clumsily “ **you have a new Mission from TiTAN. The details have been sent to your terminal.** ” Six ushered it away with a flick of their wrist, and as it exited Six turned to look at Ava.

“Duty calls?” she asked bitterly, lips pulled back in a sneer instead of a grin.

“Why so upset?”

She turned away. “You’re going off to strip a planet, aren’t you?” They didn’t respond. “That’s how I lost everything – because of you Scavengers. I could have come home eventually.”

Six recalled comforting young Marverde as a child, when he realized his family was dead and his planet destroyed, watching the tears roll down the child’s cheeks as he sobbed. Ava’s pain was much worse. Hers was of absolute isolation, of a denied future.

Her entire race was taken from her. Her entire homestead.

That never really sunk in until Six stared at her, alone and contained in her cage.

They turned and walked away, bidding “Goodbye,” in a trembling tone.

“Leaving so soon?” she called out, voice laced with cruelty. She hit against the energy shield, and it shrieked for a fraction of a second against her force.

“Yes,” they called out as they exited the cell block “I fear you very much.” They heard her snicker as they walked away.

_If you love someone, you fear them too._

Six tried to control the thrumming in their chest as they came to their quarters.

()()()()()()()

_…Daughter._

_“Yes, father?”_

_The Vial. Is it almost done?_

_“No, father. It needs more time to steep. The curse will not fully permeate the mixture unless we wait.”_

_How much longer?_

_“A few more days, father. Just a few more days.”_

_I grow tired._

_“I know.”_

_Do not fail me, my girl._

Ava opened her eyes, exhaling. Her cell seemed smaller when Six wasn’t talking to her.

“I won’t,” she whispered.

()()()()()()()

If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was strangers. Strangers meant she had to be extra careful not to have a fit, strangers meant she had to force herself not to panic, strangers meant they didn’t know how she could get and she could very well end up hurting someone and not want to.

The black haired boy grabbed her shoulder again, hissing “Y-You have to l-listen to me!”

Her will was stripped from her as the demon of her psyche possessed her again, and she spun around yelling “ _Touch me again you stuttering coward, I dare you!_ ” She didn’t want to say that, she didn’t want to do that at all! The demon retreated, laughing, with claws and hair bellowing behind it like a bonfire.

He glared indigo eyes and extended a single finger, poking her in the wrist, the ultimate symbol of defiance.

Magnolia Lacivi decided today was going to be a very, very bad day.


	3. Maybe Too Close

“Six!” Ava bellowed, her hands beating on the energy field. It would spark violently as she beat on it, her claws stressing the containment grid, flexing it, no matter the injuries. “ _You son of a bitch,_ you’d better not strip that planet!”

No reply - only the silent whirr of the Scavengers preparing.

“ _Six!_ ” She smashed her fists into the field, and it warped, going awash with a fizzing red hue as she attempted to pull it apart.

She couldn’t let the Scavengers eat another world, not like how they ate hers.

She couldn’t allow it.

Ava howled in frustration as she plowed her entire body into the field, and pinpricks of pain shuddered down her skin and pulled her flesh, magma trembling in her fingertips.

“Hells,” she breathed, panting, wiping her brow to survey the damage she had done. The field wasn’t working right anymore with her constant abuse, and parts of the grid would scan over shakily, seamlessness gone.

Ava honestly wanted to be Six’s friend. They had given her more attention and affection than anyone else in the last few decades, and it was rejuvenating to have even false love. She wanted them to listen to her, to understand. She wanted them to know the scars they were leaving in the universe by eating planets, the gaping holes in space every time they choked a core to silence.

And if that involved breaking out of her cell and beating their face in, then so be it.

As she took a few steps back, preparing to slam her shoulder into the field, when a single red eye blinked at her. She faltered and blinked in reply, trying to see past the red haze of the grid as a Scavenger scuttled up to the shield and clicked curiously. Its long limbs were almost insect-like as it reached out and planted a split hand onto the solid wall that made part of her cell.

“What!” she snapped, nervous by its odd behavior.

Another two appeared, hooking a three fingered hand into the wall.

One began to speak, black static to her ears as a throat made for screaming formed words. “ **Code thirteen of the containment center - any and all disruptive prisoners must be pacified.** ”

“What,” Ava snarled, her muscles going taut “are you going to come in here and try to fight me?”

There was a shifting noise, like something slipping into a slot as a red grid pattern formed under Ava’s feet, lighting up the black metal. She put a foot up, looking underneath her as the red lines streaked up the wall.

She opened her mouth to speak-

“ **Initiate**.”

-and was overcome with such pain that her knees buckled underneath her.

()()()()()()()()()()

Six had been trying to ignore Ava’s howls and protests that echoed through the station. It was difficult, considering her voice carried so well, and they were so used to listening to it.

As they mapped out a pattern for how the ships would align around the next planet, Six hesitated.

Ava’s howls of anger were turning into something else. The low, guttural tone that threatened was gone - and instead, a high shriek echoed down the hall.

They placed the datapad down and exited their quarters, looking down the corridor towards the open doors of the Cell block.

They saw shivers of white light through the open doors and panic beat at their heart as they suddenly leapt forward on powerful legs, sliding a little on the tile and wrapping their hands around the doorframe, looking into the units.

Three Scavengers had laced Ava’s entire cell with electricity.

She shrieked, screaming, her voice clawing at the walls as her entire form was stiff. The veins in her neck pulsed from the strain, her feet white hot where bolts of electricity traveled from the floor into her taut legs, and danced between her open fingers and made her hair go on end.

“Stop!” Six commanded, their own voice panicked “I redact code thirteen, cease now!”

The Scavengers pulled back, removing their hands from the slots. Ava collapsed to the ground in a heap, smoke coming off her feet, her entire body trembling as the red rivulets went dim.

Six ran over to the grid, dropping to their hands and knees. She was on her front, her hair covering her face. Her hands would twitch every few seconds.

“Ava? Ava, please, are you alright? They shouldn’t have - I mean, are you healing? Can you hear me?”

She went stiff.

“Ava?”

She sharply looked up, and gold tears were streaking down her cheeks. Her hair was frayed around her face, and her mouth was twisted in contempt, eyes blood red and hands tightening into fists.

“I _hate_ you,” she declared huskily.

Six’s insides went cold.

“ _I hate you_ ,” she repeated, trying to sit up and falling again when the muscles in her stomach spasmed. “You scavengers took away my home and my species, and now you’re going to take away my life - _I hate you!_ ” In spite of her pain, she threw herself at the grid. The sparking energy made Six instinctively scramble backwards. “ ** _I hate you!_** ”

The words rang true, her voice scratchy and hoarse from screaming. Her hair was frazzled and clinging to her face and clothes when she drew back, exhaling a plume of ash, her lungs expanding as she tried to take in as much air as possible. She was glaring, roaring, taloned hands ready to render them limb from limb, eyes so wide and scarlet Six was suffocating in fire.

Six stumbled to their feet and ran to the door, her words chasing them like bloodhounds. They ran into their quarters, a curious prickling sensation behind their eyes and an unbearable squeezing at their chest. They leaned up against the wall of their room. “Computer,” they commanded, voice uncontrollably shaking “do a diagnostics on my internal systems, there must be a gas-leak or - or a cardiovascular issue-”

“Heart-rate increased. No change.”

They sputtered “But the pain-”

“No change,” the synthetic voice repeated, as though apathetic to their suffering.

What was this feeling that ate away at their insides? What was this absolute, crippling that was taking them by the heart and twisting until tears glazed across their eyes?

What was this?

They leaned down, the realization crashing around them, synthetic ears pressing back flat against their snow-blue hair and fingers curling.

Heartache.

They truly cared for Ava in her weeks here. They wanted her, desired her touch and love, and wanted her to be safe. They wanted her to love them.

What had they done?

Six ran a hand over their eyes, shoulders limp.

_What have I done? I should have set her free when she might’ve loved me - then she would have come back._

Six was falling through fire.

_I’ve lost her._

The datapad chimed. They shakily glanced down to it, wiping their eyes and picking it up. The mapping route was complete for the next planet to be stripped.

TiTAN.

_The plan._

They steadied themselves and exhaled gently, pushing the heartache behind them.

When all else failed, the mission still needed to be complete.               

()()()()()()()()()()

Ava lay in a fetal position, shivering in her cell. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as her fingers curled around her nose and she whimpered quietly. Her legs throbbed, and her muscles would twitch on occasion, still healing from being electrocuted. Her hair was burnt at the edges, her hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

“ _My ugly, ugly daughter_ ,” Gaveen cooed in her mind. She shut her eyes and planted her palms over her ears as though that could muffle his words. “ _Didn’t I tell you the Scavenger was trouble?_ ”

“They were different,” Ava replied, voice cracking. “I wanted them to like me and set me free.”

“ _All Scavengers are the same, precious daughter. You know that.”_ She squeezed her eyes shut, and a few tears dripped down the side of her face. She didn’t want this. She didn’t hate them. She was hurt.

All animals lash out when hurt.

“ _Do you remember the gift I gave you?”_

She steadied herself.

_“Do you remember?”_

Ava sat up in her cage, swallowing hard. Her throat felt gummy, and her limbs felt so heavy. After a few breaths she replied “I remember, father.”

_“Show me.”_

Ava pulled her bangs back from her forehead, and traced the patterns of scarred flesh over her third eye. This would hurt, maybe even more than the scavenger’s electrocution of her cage.

With great effort, she forced the third eye open. Flesh healed over long ago pulled in ways it was never meant to do – skin almost ripped as the dysfunctional pupil of her third eye twisted and swiveled in its socket. She closed her other eyes and exhaled.

_“ **Show** me, daughter.”_

The world shivered bright silvers and traced with light. Small, droplet like creatures clung to her skirts – looking down at her hands, she could see the apparition of her father’s hands in her own, could see his garland of flowers on her collarbone. She glanced up, her forehead screaming with pain, Ava panting with the effort of keeping the eye open, to find she could see past the energy field keeping her in her cage, and the fault lines of the ship.

_“I have given you this sight so that we may find the relic.”_

“The… soul manipulator…?” she questioned breathlessly. The effort put into using an eye never meant for seeing was painful, and beyond exhausting.  

_“Yes. You can see more than just the artifact, though – with this sight, you can see the very dead. Remember?”_

She recalled years and years ago. “Yes, I do – but how?”

_“Our pact is different. Ours is between blood, and therefore your blood is mine to use, mine to change so you can improve.”_

She settled her palm over her third eye and eased it shut again. She exhaled in relief when it finally slid back into its natural position.

_“Do you remember?”_

()()()()()

_She was running, choking back tears as she slid down the hallway. Her arm was gushing blood, hot on her hands as she spun around a corner._

_Nanezgani had killed her father. He was going to be her mother’s new husband._

_That meant he could kill any previous offspring._

_Ava pressed her back against the wall, her third eye spastically rolling in an attempt to see through the dark shadows of the halls. She forced her breathing to steady, fumbling the wound on her arm._

_Where was Pedri? He was just behind her._

_Instincts screamed for her to run. Without thinking twice she dropped to her knees and rolled in time for Pedri to come down from above, cleaving his scythe through the tile. Debris scatters around them both, chips of marble clumsily landing on Ava’s skirts._

_She exhaled and hopped to her feet._

_“You’re not bad for a pup,” Pedri noted cruelly. He stood his full height, so much taller than her, so much stronger. “You would have made a wonderful heir, had you not been the offspring of that pathetic creature I fought earlier.”_

_“My father was not pathetic,” Ava spat, standing straight. She points with her bloodied arm, points at the demon that killed the one she considered closest. “You are nothing but a snake. I saw the wound on my father’s stomach – you attacked him from behind and threw your scythe around the front to mimic the image of attacking from the front.”_

_Pedri went stiff, eyes going wide._

_“You cheated for your crown.” Ava was slowly stepping back. If there was one thing she could appreciate about the Vengess’ way of thinking, it was that a weapon had adorned almost every wall for decoration purposes. There was a spear on the wall behind her._

_“You’re insightful for your age. A little too insightful.” Pedri approached with sure and steady steps. “I can’t wait to be rid of you.” He lunged forward, his scythe shrieking as it spun around, cutting through the air._

_Ava rushed backwards and leapt up, snatching the spear off the wall. For a split second she was wide open, torso exposed – Pedri smirked as he knew he would hit his mark._

_Then,_ impossibly _, metal met metal._

_Ava redirected the blow, hopping upwards and twisting the staff of the spear so Pedri swung backwards. He blinked in shock as he regained his footing._

_Ava was breathing hard – the effort put into defending herself just with that maneuver was enough to pull the breath out of her, and he was barely winded, even after fighting her father._

_“Not bad,” he noted with a small sneer, lips pulling back to show blood red teeth and bone. “You think you can keep it up?”_

_“I don’t have to keep it up,” she hissed, flesh lighting up gold. Magma dripped from her wound. “I just have to take you down.”_

_She snarled, bronze teeth flashing, eyes wide and scarlet. Her hands tightened around the spear, only used as decoration and now being used as a weapon – her stance was taut, blood under her feet from her open wound._

_“Your father couldn’t beat me.”_

_She laughed huskily. “The difference between me and my father is that I have nothing to lose.” Her hair began to prickle as ash rushed from her mouth. “I’ll burn this whole palace down around us if it means killing you.”_

_Pedri faltered, just long enough for his shoulders to slack. He regained his composure as he pulled his scythe up. “Nice bluff,” he replied. “But you’re just a child.”_

_“Then kill me,” she breathed “and prove it.”_

_He lunged forward again and she dodged, dropping downwards. He swore and mid-swing pulled his scythe to the floor, but she rolled between his legs and slapped the spear against the back of his knees. However, her arm was still badly wounded, and the hit didn’t break skin – instead she could only hop to her feet and dart backwards as Pedri did a full spin with his weapon._

_When he spun to a stop, bright eyes narrowing on Ava, her hands tightened on her spear._

I have nothing to lose.

_Throwing caution to the wind, she ran forward. Pedri swung and the scythe sliced across her other arm and ribs, but she continued unhesitating, unstoppable._

_She roared and threw herself forward._

_Ava Ire was dead serious._

_Pedri clumsily stumbled backwards, actually shocked at the absolute determination on her face. The tip of her spear didn’t hit its mark – instead, it only thinly sliced over his right eye, just bloodying the eyelid._

_He made a strangled noise and plowed her aside with the staff of his scythe. She went flying and hit the far wall, bouncing off – tapestries unhooked from the wall with the hit, and fluttered to the ground around her._

_She groaned and grasped for the spear, but just as she glanced up, dizzy and disoriented, Pedri was already full swing._

_Before she could even think to dodge, the tip of his spear sliced directly through the top of her third eye._

_Ava shrieked and swung blindly, blood spilling over her forehead. Pedri backed away, panting._

_“An eye for an eye, little girl,” he chuckled grimly. Ava dropped the spear and cupped the eye with her hands, blood hot between her fingers, her entire forehead on fire with pain. “Say goodbye, Ava Ire.”_

_Suddenly, she felt something worming into her head. It was like the slickness of a fish between her fingers, it was something in her very mind, slipping through the open wound of her eye._

_“ **DAUGHTER** ,” she heard her father boom. “ **FIGHT**.”_

_She looked up at Pedri, her flesh burning, magma surging under her skin with more ferocity than ever before._

_“ **FIGHT WITH ME**.”_

_The scythe came down._

_“Yes,” she breathed._

_The room exploded with fire._

()()()()()()

“I remember,” Ava replied slowly, memories flooding her vision and sluggishly receding.

Gaveen made a humming noise that vibrated through the back of her skull. “ _It will be difficult, but use that eye whenever you can. The more you use it, the easier it will function, the better you will see_.”

“Why are you bringing this up now?” Ava asked as she leaned herself on the wall. That sort of information he was giving her would have been useful weeks ago when she was initially captured.

 _“I thought you could use a… change in perspective_.” She glared, staring at her calloused feet. “ _Perhaps with this eyesight you will be able to see the Scavenger in a different light.”_

She couldn’t stop her voice from finally cracking. “Ah. Thank you Father.”

A deep thrum at her forehead served as a chuckle. “ _You’re welcome, my daughter.”_

As she leaned, alone in her cell, her eyes snapped open. The ship was rumbling underneath her, the plates of the ship shifting, heating up.

The planet.

They were going to strip the planet.

There were people down there.

()()()()()

The bulbous man pushed up his thickly lensed glasses. He sighed, folding his hands, glaring at the student.

“Maggie Lacivi…” The Principal groaned “if you act out again, you _will_ be expelled from this school and ported back to your parents.”

Maggie began to sweat, eyes going wide. A hand the color of candlelight stroked her face, her demon grinning widely.

Out of her control, her hand shot up, middle finger extended. “ _Then go ahead and expel me, you wrinkly old fuck!_ ” The moment passed and the red haze receded, her demon chuckling.

The Principal stared at her.

Maggie swallowed before shakily declaring “You heard me!”

Moments later she was sitting in the waiting room, looking at a map that would route her back home.

Home.

Her parents weren’t home. They shipped her off to this forsaken ‘school’ years ago to simply get rid of her. They didn’t letter, they didn’t care – she would be going back to strangers, who she knew did not love her.

The demon laughed again, mouth wide open, the mirage of stars and crescent moons gathering around her. “ _It’s funny how you own up to things that you actually didn’t do. Did you get tired of saying ‘I didn’t mean it’ or do you honestly think I’m just an illusion of your mind?_ ”

Maggie didn’t reply, she never did. Instead, her eyes narrowed and she began to scratch at the rawness of her upper arms, hidden by long sleeves.

“H-Hey!”

Maggie looked up, recognizing the voice. Her nose wrinkled and eyes narrowed, her face pinched at seeing who was panting in the doorway.

“Ugh, you again?” she asked incredulously, folding up the paper and shoving it in her pocket. “What do you _want_?” she hissed. If she was lucky, she could drive this guy off before her demon could possess her again.

“Ah – l-listen to m-me,” he stuttered, putting his hands up. “Th-There are S-Scavengers coming to th-this world – you n-need to come w-with me r-right now!” His face was painted with panic, his skin flushing a watercolor purple in hue. Maggie squinted.

“Are you high right now?” she questioned aloud.

A breath later, the wall behind her exploded. Debris went flying, and the second she turned to look, eyes wide, a chunk hit the side of her head.

Maggie felt the pain in the side of her head, the world spinning as she slipped off her seat-

And then she knew only black.

()()()()()

Odin swore under his breath as the gigantic black automaton swallowed part of the wall. He managed to block some of the debris with his arm, dust scattered over his clothes, when his eyes caught Maggie’s form.

 _Magpie_.

This girl, as irritating as she was, would be needed to save his sister. Without another word he tossed the concrete off of her and hoisted her limp form over his shoulder.

His wraith followed him, the three eyed devil. He watched Odin as he weaved around Scavenger legs and ducked under blows, watched as Odin carried the girl to his ship.

The black static of the scavenger’s screaming followed him into his ship, the echoes still biting his ears.

He tossed Maggie onto the seats before rushing over to the controls, fingers scrambling over the route. “C-C’mon, come _on_ ,” he pleaded as the hip sputtered to life. It sluggishly lifted from the ground, firepower coughing as the engine pulled the bones of the ship up. “This sh-shit is so old,” he complained to himself as he forced the ship to plow through the atmosphere.

As the ship sliced through space, he could see the blindingly bright explosion of the planet being stripped, the core harvested.

His eyes narrowed and he looked away.

()()()()()()

Scavenger Six watched, hands folded behind their back as the planet was dismantled, precious core syphoned.

()()()()()()

Ava Ire sat in her cell, forehead buried against her knees as another world was killed, another million slaughtered for the bounty of energy.

()()()()()()

Maggie blinked, forcing a groan down. Where was she? Her head throbbed painfully, and she massaged her temples with her fingers, probing her scalp to find a swollen lump just above her right ear.

Forcing her eyes open, she hissed under her breath at the sharp lights above her. They pulsed red and dull yellows, and the contrast stung, straining her eyes.

She was on a seat, in a… a ship?

“ _It’s about time you woke up. That weirdo over there has been doing all sorts of fun things while you were knocked out_ ,” her demon picked her nails, as though there might have been something in them “ _namely swearing and muttering incoherently._ ”

Maggie cocked her head. The weirdo?

She remembered there was an explosion behind her, at the office. She remembered the harsh, burning gaze of the scavenger-

Her eyes settled on a head of black hair and her eyes went wide.

He must have taken her.

Slowly, she sat up. There was a toolbox nearby, and she scooted noiselessly across the seat, sweat at her brow as she watched the back of the stranger’s head. Her fingers fumbled over the wrench sitting atop the box, and her hand curled around it tightly.

She stood and neared him, breaths labored.

“ _You really think you can kill him?_ ” her demon taunted.

As though on cue, he spun around, a gun in his hand and the barrel pointed at Maggie’s face. His own expression was deadly serious, glaring and teeth bared. “Dr-Drop the wr-wre-wr-“

She knocked the gun out of his hand.

He was shocked for a split second before she smacked the wrench over his face and he jerked the other way. “ _Nice hit_ ,” her demon commented when an ugly bruise already began forming across his nose.

She tossed the wrench aside and picked the gun up off the floor, aiming it at his face.

Maggie swallowed hard, steeling herself as he sat back up and froze.

“D-Don’t do an-anything stupid,” he warned lowly.

“Where the hell are we, you creep?!” Maggie demanded, forcing herself to sound intimidating. “You better turn this ship around now, or-”

“There’s n-nothing to t-turn back to,” he explained, hands up and the sweatiness of his palms exposed. “S-Silent Scavengers st-stripped your world.” He looked off to the left, swallowing hard, faltering. “My b-brother warned me ahead of time, a-and I s-saved you b-because… I really like you, and I thought we could go back to my homeworld and live there.”

Her demon laughed. “ _That’s a lark! Someone liking Maggie? I call liar.”_

She glared. “What’s your name?”

His startlingly indigo eyes met hers and he didn’t break eye contact. “O-Odin.”

“Odin?” He nodded. “I don’t care, you’re going to turn us around now,” her hands squeezed harder on the firearm “or else-”

“Or e-else what? Y-You’ll kill the p-pilot? Th-There’s _nothing_ l-left to go back to, and I’m n-not some f-fool that caves in for a crush.” He chuckled dryly. “Th-The class was right. N-No wonder you were c-called the class f-freak.”

Her entire form went taut.

“Y-You’re a real psycho, M-Maggie.”

She stared at Odin, her world going awash with anger. It boiled in her gut, and she sneered, pointing the gun away from him.

She fired four shots into the control panel.

He hopped to his feet but she aimed it back at his face while stray wires went sparking behind her. The lights went red and there was a loud, blaring warning signal flashing behind her. “Wh-What have you d-done?!”

She continued glaring.

“L-Let me t-try to land us somewhere Maggie!”

Her finger shifted onto the trigger. “Apologize,” she threatened lowly.

Odin threw his hands aside, barking desperately “D-Don’t we have m-more pressing matters at th-the moment?! Like i-imminent d-death?!”

“I don’t care,” she replied tightly. Her vision was red with fury – what was she saying? Of course she cared. She was just so – so – so mad. So sick of everything.

“ _Finally_ ,” her demon stated, clapping her hands in delight.

 

“I hope we die,” Maggie continued sharply. Without warning, angry tears began streaking down her face. “I hope we both die.”

Odin’s expression dropped.

“Y-You actually w- _want_ to die, d-don’t you?”

Maggie opened her mouth to reply – when the ship’s engines exploded. Fire enveloped her body and she was thrown backwards as metal debris flew through the air. The gravity generator failed as she began floating through fire, burns licking up her arms-

When her stomach erupted with pain, and she closed her eyes.

Blinking, she was staring at her hands. They were almost neon green, and smooth as silk.

“ _So… The day you die is finally here?_ ” She turned as her demon was slouched over her body. Her corpse had metal tubing and wires blasted through it from the ship’s explosions, mainly a large chunk of debris straight through her chest. In zero gravity, her face was buried in her curly, chestnut hair – but she could see her own open mouth, droplets of blood floating from her lips. “ _Good riddance, you little brat_.”

“I’m dead?!?” Maggie screeched, eyes going wide, realization settling in.

Her demon turned and sighed. “ _I_ thought _you were… but it looks like you have a few glorious minutes in limbo to chill while you bleed out.”_

Maggie looked over her form. The collar of her shirt blended into her throat, no seam found – and there was a glowing aura that surrounded her. “Aw hell, if I’m dead why the fuck are you still here?”

“I’m _dead too!_ ” her hallucination interjected, flashing white teeth “ _if you had listened to me_ once _in the past_ **fifteen years** _, you would_ know _this!_ ”

Maggie didn’t know what to say to that. Instead, she floated over to her body, beaten and bloody, burn marks up her hands and arms, clawed at her corpse’s throat.

“ _The only difference now, is…_ ” her demon crossed her arms. _“…_ my _superior soul will be reborn in some_ other _universe, while yours…”_

Maggie watched her half-lidded eyes, mouth caked with blood.

“… _your puny specter will explode into stardust_.”

Maggie put a hand to her chest. “Thank. God. That’s a relief!”

“ **Excuse** _me?! A_ **relief** _?!”_

Maggie laughed, crossing her arms and staring at her corpse. “ _Hell_ yeah! I wanted to die, but not like… in _your_ way. Not by one of your crazy suicides. I’m so glad!”

She felt something flickering behind her, rage going taut. “ _Are… Are you telling me…”_ the creature’s hands were trembling with pure, unbridled rage, every fiber of her soul going a deep gold _“…you’ve foiled my_ every _attempt to off you… practically… your_ whole _life… just because you didn’t want_ **me** _to kill you?!”_

The creatures was inches from her face, howling “ _What_ **difference** _does it make if I or you take your life, Magnolia?!”_

Maggie snarled back, shoving the demon away. It was startling that she could _touch_ the thing that tortured her since birth. “It doesn’t matter to _anyone_! But that’s the point!” She looked back to her limp corpse, floating along debris, blood pooling mid-air around her. “I didn’t want to die because _no_ one would miss me! If I crash like this, if someone finds my body like this-! They might think something about me.” She curled in on herself, pulling her knees up to her chest. “Something nice. Maybe they’ll think that I was a good person, and that I didn’t deserve to die.” Maggie turned and snarled back to the demon “Why the hell do _you_ care anyway?! You get a second chance!”

“ _I have important fucking business that will never be taken care of! Don’t you realize how important I am to this universe?!”_ The demon brought a claw to Maggie’s face. “ _Your_ death _was my last escape from your prison of a body – and you denied me this freedom! For_ fifteen _years! For your_ own selfish reasons _!”_

“Excuse- _fucking_ -me for not wanting to die you hellion!” Maggie yelled back in the demon’s face. “ _I’m_ the only one that can see you anyway! What kind of _business_ could you possibly have?!”

“ _Oh_ ,” The demon rolled her eyes and turned to the side, her long cape of hair following the movement “ **now** _you want to talk_!” They were silent for a moment, each seething in their own rage. “ _Well… since we have some time together… I can entertain you for a bit.”_ She paused. “ _Not that you fucking deserve it.”_

“Eat my ass, you hell goat.”

 _“For your information, anyone n my empire who had any respect for me referred to me as their_ **savior** _…”_ A handful of violet dust was gathering in her palms, churning into the mirage of a city-scape. “… _but you have the privilege of calling me by my name._ ”

Maggie furrowed her brows, blinking rapidly.

“ ** _Wrathia Bellarmina_**.”

()()()()()()

Six stood in front of the screens. The planet’s core was strong, and provided a surplus of power. Enough that TiTAN would be significantly pleased.

The conglomerate of screens synchronized into TiTAN’s face, his singular red eye pulsing brightly. “ **My Six** ,” he rumbled lowly “ **this last planet has provided much for us.** ”

Six stood up straight. This was usually their favorite part of finishing a mission.

“ **I am so proud of you**.”

Six blinked. Those words used to make them swell with pride, but now they fell flat. Where had the grandeur of those words gone? Where was the feeling of utter gratitude and appreciation that they pleased TiTAN?

_“ **I hate you**!”_

TiTAN’s proclamations of pride could not even heal the wound that Ava Ire’s scathing words had provided. Her confession of hate, of abhorrence for their actions of being a Scavenger outweighed TiTAN’s pride for it.

The gain was not as pretty as the price.

“ **Six** …” TiTAN rumbled, hairline rivulets of red up his helmet as he inclined his vision at the camera “… **How is the Vengess?** ”

Six snapped their head up, tossing their snow-blue hair back. “She is in prime condition. She gets violent, on occasion, but… We can handle it.”

“ **I’ll need her here as soon as possible, you know**.”

Six nodded obediently. “Our course is set straight for the Citadel, TiTAN-”

“ **Not soon enough**.” Six blinked slate red eyes and confusion washed over them. “ **I’ve sent a private carrier vessel over. It travels ten times quicker than the Battle Ship you’re in**.”

Six felt their throat close, words unable to escape. “Ah… I see.”

The screens flickered, momentarily lost in white noise. “ **You sound disappointed**.”

“Well,” Six popped a hip and forced their voice to be steady in front of the God they so adored, forced their composure “she has been endless entertainment.”

TiTAN chuckled. “ **The carrier vessel should be there in Seventy Two standard hours**.” Six nodded, confirming the statement. “ **We will see each other soon**.”

The screens went black.

_We will see each other soon._

Those words used to feel like a promise.

Why did they feel like a threat, now?

()()()()()

“Lemme get this straight,” Maggie said aloud, waving her hand spastically “Scavengers ate your planets, because you wouldn’t align with some super-dude called TiTAN? And that thing about your kid-”

“ _Yes, for the love of – how thick_ is _your skull, Magnolia?”_

Maggie sneered. “And you wanted me to make a pact with you, so that you can get your revenge.”

Wrathia nodded, crossing her arms.

Maggie tossed her spiritual hair back, snorting. “No way. My only desire was to get rid of you, and once I explode that’ll be the end of that.”

“ _Ugh_ ,” Wrathia rubbed her temples “ _you are such a little brat! I should have tried harder to kill you when you were an infant!_ ”

Maggie turned to snarl at her, to spit in her face and deny her that which she desired – but she spotted her corpse. Her arms were arched in front of her, her back curved and her hair drifting freely. A piece of paper wandered lazily through the air, half-open.

It was the route home, when the Principal had expelled her.

In a rush of heartache, she recalled her parents, before they had thought she was a problem child. She thought of the school gardens, of friends driven away and opportunities eaten away by the manipulation of her own personal demon.

Maggie Lacivi had survived for fifteen years.

But she had not once lived.

“It’s about that time,” Wrathia announced. Maggie looked down as her hands began breaking apart into glowing sand, into pure matter of the universe. She could see bone breaking down into nothingness – see her chance, her _last_ chance for a life breaking down before her very eyes. “I hope you enjoyed your brief existence-”

“Shut up,” Maggie interrupted flatly. “I lied.”

Wrathia’s interest was piqued. She leaned forward as Maggie started at her cold corpse, blood pooled in zero gravity around her, in her clothes stained red and her eyes glazed over.

“When you left me alone, for some time – I used to daydream.” Maggie’s voice went quiet, reverent, as though in prayer. “I used to daydream about having parents who loved me, about having real friends… about falling in love and having someone want me.” She sighed and looked at her disintegrating hands. “I used to daydream about a life worth living.”

Wrathia’s mouth opened into a wide grin.

“That’s what I want – that’s my desire. I want a new life, a second chance.” Maggie’s eyes narrowed on the fiery apparition in front of her. “Can you give me that?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Wrathia dragged the word out, a hand to her chin. “ _I can give you a new life... But in exchange, you must help me get my revenge._ ”

She extended her hand, tipped with claws and fire.

“ _Do we have a pact?_ ”

()()()()()()

Six blinked as they went through the scanners. “Probe seven,” they asked “what model is that Scavenger Vessel over there?”

The Scavenger out in the deep black, still collecting debris from the planet, swerved and latched onto the ship. There was molten metal on one side, and it was spinning wildly – whatever had been circulating its gravity must have malfunctioned. “ **Model twelve** ,” it warbled, long fingers digging into the ship.

Six glared.

“TiTAN only gave us model twenty through thirty. _That_ there, is a _stolen_ Scavenger Vessel.”

The conglomerate of Scavengers, long limbed creatures scuttling on the ship, eyes swiveling and trilling at the others, all went silent.

“Bring me that Ship.”

()()()()()()

Odin blinked the dizziness from his eyes as the ship veered out of control. If there was any way this day could go wrong, he had just discovered it.

“ _Are you finally going to make a pact with me?”_

Odin didn’t look at the creature speaking to him, glaring as he shoved a piece of debris aside. With luck, he might be able to crash land the ship.

“ _You’ll die, otherwise.”_

Odin grit his teeth and tried to continue moving, but with a faulty engine the whole ship suddenly swiveled and he was rammed against a wall. He groaned and put a hand to his temples, looking back to the control grid.

Maggie’s corpse was floating in front of it. He swore to himself and began pushing himself off of flotsam to try and reach the panel. Now Maggie was useless, unless he managed to get her corpse onto ice.

Odin grunted as he planted his hand onto the very corner of the control grid and pulled himself close enough to wrap his other hand around one of the stable parts.

“ _Well, I don’t know what you’re planning, but_ that _is going to ruin your day significantly_.”

Odin threw his head up to yell at the figment of his mind to _shut up_ , because he really couldn’t focus when that thing was talking – but as he turned, he spotted bright red streaks in the great blackness of space.

A Scavenger Heavy Battalion Cruiser was approaching.

“Sh-Shit,” he swore, trying to gain control of the ship. With Manual Override, he was able to wrench it into a stable condition, only to find that the second engine was going to blow out under the stress. He wouldn’t be able to do any high-scale maneuvering away from the vessel without blowing his ship up.

He heard a gasp.

Odin turned and felt his gut to a summersault when Maggie opened her eyes. They were burning scarlet, and her skin was rippling shades of magma and dark, cracked stone, like volcanic rock.

She arched forward and held her hands against the debris through her chest, managing to melt the entire slab under her fingertips. The molten metal flexed in the air, and Maggie looked at him, her hair flashing red at the roots.

“Wh-What the h-hell-?” he sputtered, just before his ship rocked suddenly. He fell to the ground as they came in range of a gravity well, no doubt the one on the Scavenger ship. Bits of engine and metal scattered to the ground and over his body.

As he sat up, he coughed and blinked rapidly.

They were being pulled into the Scavenger ship.

He pulled himself up to his feet, wincing as his wounds protested, only to find Maggie was unconscious on the ground. Her shirt had been burned open around her chest and stomach where the debris flew through, but there was magma pooled instead of blood.

“Wh-What are you?” he asked in a moment of bewilderment, before he heard the bay doors being forced open. The ship was fully in the Heavy Cruiser now, and he tripped over his feet, trying to find a place to at least sneak out.

He looked around for his gun, Maggie had only used a third of the heat clips – but there was metallic laughter behind him.

Odin spun around, face bruised and bloodied, to meet perfect white skin and slate red eyes. The Scavenger tossed their blue hair from their eyes, holding up an electric prod.

“Hands up, vulture,” the Scavenger ordered. “Now.”

Odin put his hands up and clenched his teeth together. Olai was definitely going to have his ass for this little mess, if he survived through it.

The organic Scavenger glared before backing away. A few Scavengers raced inside, scuttling along the roof and walls. One grabbed Odin around the wrist and pulled him off his feet, while another grabbed Maggie by her ankle and lifted her in the air.

“Is that one dead?” The organic Scavenger asked with a critical eye, scouring over the remnants of Odin’s ship until landing their eyes on Maggie.

“ **No** ,” the Scavenger hissed “ **this one lives**.”

“Hmn.” The organic Scavenger popped a hip and tossed their head. IT seemed to be a habit as they ran black clad fingers through their hair. “Run them both by Marverde. Then, throw them in the Cell Block.”

The Scavengers suddenly began moving, dragging Odin through the debris. “H-Hey – ow – ” he stuttered as the Scavenger pulled him along. Maggie was being held in the bridal position as they carried her along, aware of the wound across her chest.

Apparently, as Odin could make noise, he was considered durable enough to drag across the ground like a sack of grain.

He tried to pull himself up to his feet, but the momentum of the spider-like creature was too quick and he fell back down a moment later. Before he could verbalize his complaint, he was pulled into a room that looked almost medical. There was a sleek black table, and rows of tubes and liquids.

“Oh, are these the thieves that Six told me about?” That voice almost sounded human.

Odin looked up to see sky blue skin mottled with black, twisted scars. His eyes were strangely flickering with thick lenses covering torn sclera, and his hair was white. The person smiled, showing black teeth.

“I’m Doctor Marverde,” the Scavenger introduced.

Odin squinted. “Sc-Scavengers have d- _doctors_?”

“They have me.” The doctor turned and, with a liquid like movement, gestured to a table to set Maggie. “You’re certainly banged up. Didn’t know how to properly handle a Scavenger vessel?”

“I kn-know how to j-just fine,” Odin spat, trying to stand up. The Scavenger holding his wrist pulled him to his feet, but then settled a pair of slim black cuffs over his hands.

Marverde pulled out a thin needle, attaching it to a syringe. They tapped the glass before taking a sample of Maggie’s blood. “Wanna tell me what you were doing with one of our ships?”

“I th-think that should be o-obvious,” Odin replied dryly.

The doctor hummed in reply before shoving the syringe into a chamber. He meandered over to a small screen, and symbols Odin didn’t recognize flashed across the screen, graphs and numbers adding up. “Now wait a moment,” Gil furrowed his brow. “Okay, this isn’t right at all.”

Marverde turned to Maggie, eyes narrowing, before settling those disfigured pupils on Odin. “What is she, exactly?”

“Uh?” Odin shrugged. “A g-girl?”

“No, _species_.”

“Sh-She’s human.” _Right_?

Marverde scoffed before turning back to the screen. “According to my results, she a halfer.” Odin flinched at the term. “But more interesting, is that she’s a _Vengess_ halfer. Vengess are all dead – but she has some of that precious genetic code.”

Odin pulled on his restraints slightly, only to have the Scavenger yank back. He grumbled. “Wh-What’s precious ab-about her G-Genetics?”

Marverde shook his head. “Ah ah _ah_ , I’m not going to let any secrets out to thieves. However, this must be brought to the attention of Scavenger Six, at once.”

Odin was looking around the room carefully, mapping it out with his eyes. If he could just fine a weapon… “Th-That’s the b-blue haired one, right?”

“The General, yes,” Marverde replied hastily as he picked up a few datapads. “I’ll be back.”

Odin watched him rush out the door, before the hydraulics hissed and it shut. The Scavenger behind him trilled, making high, clicking noises.

This was just great.

“ _I told you to make a pact with me_.”

Absolutely fantastic.

()()()()()()()()

Gil rushed down the halls, holding armfuls of datapads in his hands as he made his way to Six’s quarters. “What’s so amazing about the girl?” Nevy asked briefly as he almost tripped.

“Vengess are a strict species – a half human half Vengess should be impossible, which means…” He came to Six door and hesitated. “…she must have been an experiment.”

He activated the door and ran in, dumping the datapads onto Six’s desk. Six drew back threw their hands up in frustration as Gil babbled “General, look at this! Her DNA shouldn’t be able to support this, there shouldn’t be able to have an equal balance of human marrow with a system that has over ten times the amount of kenetic energy and temperature spikes, but-”

“Marverde,” Six interrupted, exasperated “speak _words_.”

“Ah – sorry – but she’s half Vengess! The girl on that stolen ship!”

Six’s eyes darted up, dark red narrowing under a partition of blue. “She’s _what_.”

Gil clapped his hands, grinning widely. “She has Vengess DNA mixed with human DNA, an impossibility in the natural world!”

“So you’re saying that her very existence is a forced event? Artificial?”

Gil nodded frantically, gathering the datapads up and pulling one over to Six. “What else could it be?” Six hummed thoughtfully, leaning their chair back and sitting up. “After all, she’s very durable – she even bleeds magma, as shown earlier. When she cools, I bet it’ll thin into a more fluid substance, resembling human blood-”

“Fascinating,” Six stopped with a flat tone. Gil blinked and watched them carefully, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

“Is something wrong? I should think that another Vengess would make TiTAN even more pleased…”

Six furrowed their brow. “Later. For now, they all go in the Cell block.” As they both exited, Gil felt a sharp spike of anxiety down his spine.

Nevy put her hands on Gil’s shoulders as he walked, but not even her comforting presence could suppress the bitter glare behind him.

()()()()()()

Six was dragging Odin down to the cell block, a Scavenger hoisting Maggie along. She hadn’t woken up yet.

“Wh-What’s so amazing ab-about her being a h-halfer?” Odin asked again, struggling against being dragged. “Wh-What makes her s- _special_?”

“She’s a Vengess halfer,” Six explained in their irritatingly smooth voice. “Vengess are all but extinct – as of now, this is the second one seen in the last few decades.”

“S-Second?”

Six dragged Odin through the cell block doors, taking a handful of his hair and jerking his face towards the nearest cell. “ _That_ , is a pure Vengess.”

A stunning creature turned. Although her colorations were hued from the red energy field, he could still see the pure scarlet and fiery orange of her hair, see the hot magma under her skin and the ferocity in her eyes. She put her chin up and folded her arms, standing fully and glaring at Six.

That was a look of power.

That pure Vengess was a predator, and maybe Odin’s only chance of escaping.

Odin blinked a few times. “S-So… A-Are we sh-sharing a c-cell, or…?” Six stared for a moment, before barking a muffled laugh under their rounded mask.

“Don’t be stupid, I wouldn’t let you near cargo precious as that.”

She spoke, and her voice was as deep and dulcet as the wolf howls from his home. “No longer a person, no longer a species, but once again a battery?” Her brows furrowed downwards and her voice trembled, as though she was in pain. “How far, Six? How far will we fall?”

Six went stiff, and the two stared at the other. The Vengess had an expression of regret heavy set on her shoulders, and Six looked like they wanted to say something, wanted to confess a sin – but instead they shook their head.

“If we had never climbed up we couldn’t have fallen,” Six replied with a shake of their head, eyes not meeting the Vengess once again.

She slammed her palm against the energy shield and it shrieked, sparking, but she drew back instantly. “Let me go, Six,” she commanded, her voice angry and low, a tremor of pain still shaking it. “Let me **_GO_**.”

“No,” they replied again, but with less certainty, with less vigor. Odin looked between the Vengess and Six. What was happening? What exactly was their relationship?

“They’ll kill me Six, you know that.” The Scavenger General flinched, drawing back a little, dragging Odin with them. Odin listened carefully, trying to catch up to a vague conversation and a complex relationship he knew nothing about. “You don’t care?”

“Of course not,” Six spat back, planting a heel sharply on the metal floor. The noise resonated dully throughout the ship, and for a moment silence ruled. Six blinked rapidly and steadied themselves. “You are my _mission_ , nothing more.”

The Vengess pulled her lips back, flashing sharp teeth in a bitter grin. Her forehead glimmered, and Odin saw she had a third eye that had been slashed out, but the edges of it pulsed lowly. It was glowing.

“You lying, _legless_ failure,” she snarled, nearing the confines of her cage. Six seemed to tense as she drew closer. “You know _nothing_ of… of…”

She was staring ahead of her, eyes wide. Her third eye was crinkled open slightly, as though it was forced, and her breath stopped.

Six turned to follow her gaze and showed obvious confusion when they found nothing. “Ava?”

Odin’s own breath seized in his throat as he realized what the Vengess was staring so pensively at.

“I’ll be damned,” she noted breathlessly, her voice hoarse. “ _Pedri Nanezgani_.”

For the first time in his entire life, Odin saw his demon recoil in absolute terror.


	4. Definitely Too Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Gaveen is an anagram for "Avenge"

The machinery behind them beeped rhythmically, hydraulics hissing behind Six’s head as steam tickled their hair.

The black haired boy was still on the floor, looking between her and the ghost she was so familiar with.

Ava’s third eye ached from strain, the world warbling.

“Father,” she whispered, barely audible among the bustle of the ship “do you see him too?”

**_I do._ **

Ava suddenly slapped a hand against her forehead, forcibly laughing. Six flinched at the noise as she held her arm against her abdomen and laughed, harder than she meant to. This is ridiculous – Ava saw her planets be stripped, saw the planets of her allies get torn apart – she knew he was dead, but not like this.

“How dare you,” she chuckled. All at once the humorous demeanor shattered and she shrieked “How _dare_ you?!”

Pedri drew back, eyes flicking over her face, looking out from behind the mirage of her father’s skull. “ _You_ …” his voice sounded hoarse from lack of use. “ _You’re… not Wrathia_.”

Ava slapped her hand on the field and it shuddered, sparking red around her fingers. “Like hell I am,” she barked, baring her teeth.

“Ava?”

She spun and saw Six staring at her. Their eyes were wide, hands clenching the collar of the boy, who kept glancing between Ava and Pedri. She put a hand on her forehead.

“Put the prisoners in my cell, Six.”

They blinked, before scoffing. “Are you serious? I’m not-”

“If you don’t,” she interrupted “I’ll destroy myself and then TiTAN will have nothing.” Six physically prickled, their snow blue hair going on end and their shoulders taut.

“…You can’t die.”

“You don’t know that.” Ava eased her third eye shut, pulling her collar up to her mouth, as though to cover her face in a moment’s notice. “Did it ever occur to you that I might know what can kill me?”

Six’s voice grew urgent. “You wouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

Silence flooded the room, an uncomfortable silence that made muffled every noise except for panicked breathing and the shift of spit in Ava’s mouth as she swallowed hard.

Six’s eyes narrowed, sparking in a way completely unrelated to the way Vengess eyes sparked, and Ava felt alone. “I don’t believe you.”

Ava had to talk to Pedri, and if the boy’s expression meant anything, then he was the specter’s host. She had to talk to him, to find out how Pedri was here, to find out what was happening.

Ava shakily drew her hand up and exhaled slowly. She tensed and jerked her hand forward as through to render her own chest apart, as though to tear the cloth and flesh aside to stop her heart.

“STOP!” Six dropped Odin and put their hands out, as if they could grab her hands. Ava’s claws were barely touching her front. “Alright, I’ll – I’ll put them in your cell, just don’t – don’t hurt yourself, please…” The last statement was said with a hint of desperation, and Ava couldn’t help but feel enthralled at the concern on their face.

The concern for her.

She beat her heart down.

**_My girl. Find out why that creature is here, and update me._ **

Ava stood aside and let the scavengers push the prisoners into her cell, and she could see from the corner of her eye, Six cast her a look of despair. What were they thinking about? She couldn’t have really killed herself, it would have just been very, very painful.

_Don’t hurt yourself, please…_

She shook her head and watched a girl be propped against one side of her cell, and the boy shove himself in a corner. For the moment she ignored the girl, opting to narrow her eyes at the boy.

He was a little thinner than she liked – his arms were narrow around the middle, and his throat showed faint violent veins when he swallowed, pupils brightly burning red when he blinked. His fingers bit into his pants when he clenched his hands against his thighs.

Ava blinked and turned away as the scavengers scuttled away and Six left. She shuffled through the supplies that Six had brought for her, unwinding a long shaft of cloth to reveal bits of dried meat she had stored away. The brunt of her food was still on her small carrier ship, which she had yet to learn if they had dismantled it, but she took a handful of the meats and turn back to the boy.

“Open your hand,” she commanded, her voice taking a hard edge.

The boy scowled but his glare could not match hers, and he faltered, putting a hand out. Ava’s hand did not brush his as she dropped the scarce foods into his open palm, and she turned to the girl to inspect her.

“Wh-What’s this?”

He stuttered. Ava liked him a little more for that. Flaws made people real, and being around nothing but the killers of your own race was beginning to be a bit surreal.

“Meats. Dried. You won’t get a lot of food here, so eat it.” She looked at the girl’s face – there were patches of black, like hardened lava, and between was little tributaries of magma under her skin. Ava put a talon under her chin and rolled her face aside – no horns, not even buttons, no small lumps of bone just breaking the skin. She didn’t have tipped ears either, but she was obviously Vengess.

Ava made a huffing noise in the back of her throat. “What’s she?”

The boy had polished off the last of the meats she gave him. “I th-th-thought she w-was human, but ap-apparently she’s a v-ven-ve-veng-g-”

“Vengess,” Ava nodded, looking back at her. “Vengess don’t breed with other species though, we’re too incapable…” Her eyes traveled down to the girl’s front. “…What’s this?” Magma was pooled over her chest, slowly dripping down her front. Ava pressed her palm into the lava, glowing between her fingers, and it shivered. She drew back.

She exhaled sharply. “What’s your name?”

The boy blinked, a little more relaxed. “Wha- me?” Ava rolled her eyes and nodded. “…O-Odin.”

“Odin,” she repeated. “Your parents must have had great expectations of you.” He looked uncomfortable, eyes flicking to the side as he shuffled. “And your great lumbering pest is named Pedri, if you didn’t know.”

He leapt to his feet as Ava unraveled a bit of her scarf, tying it around the mystery vengess’ front. “S-So you c-can see him?!”

“Not only can I see him,” Ava muttered as she forced her third eye open again, a needle of pain pricking the ruined retina “I know exactly who he is.” She turned, looking at his lumbering form, flicking purples and three burning eyes watching her intently. Ava stood and glared, clenching her fists. “Pedri Nanezgani, ex-King of the Vengess empire.”

He blinked sluggishly, and then her identity dawned on him, the cloudy thoughts pulling aside for him to recall the third throbbing eye on her head. _“…A…Ava_.”

She crossed her arms and her hair swung beneath her knees like the taunting tail of a cat. “How’s ruling the empire going for you?”

He stiffened. “ _You’re supposed to be dead. We sent you to the rim to die_.”

“Surprise surprise,” she chimed “and not only am I here, but you have lost everything. How the _fuck_ did you manage that?”

Pedri put his hands to his temple, feeling the smooth contours of the mask. “ _I… my world… the land was set aflame-”_

“You should have let me stay, Pedri,” she shook her head “I could have stopped the Scavengers. I tried to stop them, I sent a message to Tuls and Renunculae, but it must’ve gotten lost in the shuffle. I could have saved the planets, had you let me stay.”

Odin was looking between the two of them, wildly confused.

“ _You – You’re a bastard child,_ ” Pedri recalled aloud. “ _I would never let anyone of Gaveen’s bloodline remain in the planets-”_

“But you were willing to use Gaveen’s spellbook to create a pact poison, right?” Pedri looked taken aback. “ _Please_ Pedri, don’t try and pull any shit with me. Kagnako and my father wrote that book themselves, do you expect me to think that anyone out of the Ire family had access to those spells?”

Pedri curled his hands into fists and hissed lowly.

“Oh, also wearing my father’s face as a mask? Tacky, really.”

 _“You have no right to speak, Ire_ ,” the cursed soul looked watery around the edges and Ava had to swivel her third eye in its socket to let the moisture spread. “ _You are no longer apart of the Vengess Royal family.”_

Ava threw her hands up, shouting “ _What_ royal family?! Everyone is dead, Pedri! _Dead_! Wrathia is dead, you are dead, Gaveen is dead, every aunt and uncle have been killed! All of them! _There is no one left_ , except for myself and this girl here!” Ava gestured to the girl without looking, gritting her teeth. “Your rule is at an end, Pedri. You are no longer a King, and I am no longer a bastard child if the very foundation of your laws have been eaten by the Scavengers.”

Pedri was looking away, claws scratching at his front.

“…What are you thinking about,” she asked abruptly. Pedri’s smoky form drifted to the edge of the energy field.

 _“…Not everyone is dead,_ ” he replied softly, the gentleness that denoted affection.

Ava felt her stomach squirm and fought it down. “Who else is left?”

He stood in silence for a long moment, the hum of the energy field almost overtaking his words. “ _We produced an heir, Ava. Wrathia and I.”_

Ava felt her entire body go stiff.

 _“We – We hid it, the egg. On another world. A safe world.”_ Pedri turned to look at her, but Ava could see nothing there, she could not see past the memories of once being the heir of the Vengess, of once being loved and adored and wanted and protected.

An unborn usurper.

 _“I must find my child,”_ Pedri muttered “ _and Wrathia too_.” He looked up to Ava, a shiver travelling between his shoulder-blades as he managed to whisper “… _my world_ …” and his form turned to smoke as he left.

Ava groaned and ran her hands down her face. This was perfect, just dandy. How did they get Gaveen’s spellbook? She gave that to Nevy.

“Wh-What the hell j-just happened?”

Oh, right. Odin. She crouched back to the floor and groaned, tracing her face with her claws. “You’re being haunted by Pedri Nanezgani, last King of the Vengess empires.”

“Y-Yeah,” he bit caustically “I c-caught that. Wh-What is h-he doing h-haunting me?!”

“He used a spell to attach his soul to another person once he died, in order to continue existing.” She raked her claws over her scalp and frowned. “Somehow he got my father’s spellbook, and he’s abused it greatly. The pact he’s using is risky, and weak.”

“P-Pact?”

She gave Odin an astounded expression. “Pedri has told you nothing, hasn’t he?”

Odin looked away, uncomfortable. He worried his lower lip between his teeth and sighed. “H-He’s… tr-tried, but…”

“You’ve been making every attempt to ignore him, right? I can’t blame you.” Ava looked back at the Vengess-not-vengess girl “Pacts are notorious for being a major pain.”

“Wh-What is a p-pact?” he asked again, exasperated.

“When a cursed soul and a possessed soul both have a deep desire, they can make a pact-” and Ava clapped her hands together “-to combine their powers and fulfil their desires. When both sides of the pact are complete, they separate, and continue on as nature originally intended.”

“S-So… I-Is there an-any way to g-get r-rid of my… pest?” Odin sounded hopeful, and Ava had to steel herself.

“By making a pact. Otherwise they will continue to haunt you until you die, and they’ll move on to the next host.” By Odin’s crestfallen expression, she knew she just dashed any hope for him.

“Wh-What’s involved in a p-pact?” He had just crossed his legs and looked ready to drink in any information.

“In _your_ kind of pact, you both make an agreement to fill the other’s desire. Then your soul is sort of… pushed around, I guess? To make room for your demon, who will reside in your mind and grant you power.”

“I-I-In m-my mind?!”

“Yes,” Ava mused “but they can only harass you in your sleep. You gain your freedom during the waking hours, and you have their abilities and then some, depending on if they crafted with star dust.”

Odin was looking increasingly confused. “S-Star dust?”

“The building blocks of the universe.”

He shook his head. “Th-This is t-too weird f-for me. An-And what’s with m-my demon we-wearing your d-dad’s face?”

Ava laughed breathily. “It’s a long story.”

He looked around and gave her a flat expression. “I th-think I h-have time.”

“You need sleep,” she muttered, looking at the girl “and I need to find out what she is.”

Odin cast the girl a twisted look. “Sh-She should be d-dead. Sh-She got k-killed in a-an ex-explosion, b-but like… ten m-minutes later sh-she was all l-lava and sh-shit.”

Ava slapped her hand against her face and laughed.                                       

“You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

OOOOO

Six was watching the cameras with avid interest.

She was talking about some nonsense, and literally talking to nobody. There was no one there.

Nothing there that they could see.

Six squinted, flicking through the thermal camera, the movement sensitive sensors, even the grids – and still couldn’t find anything. There was nothing there! Who was she talking to?

That boy, Odin, he could see it too. What was going on?

Six didn’t like being uninformed, especially when it came to such delicate matters as this. Ava was their most precious person – species and genetic wealth set aside – and when push came to shove, they were supposed to keep her incapable of doing anything except existing. They thought by putting her in a cell, they’d be able to cut off any contact and therefore any power. But it seemed if you trapped Ava, others would be attracted to her instead.

They turned around and sauntered back to their quarters, thinking about what to do with the princess, when the memory of her, prepared to render herself apart flashed into their mind. Her life was important. TiTAN demanded an inexhaustible energy source to be the core of His new world, and she happened to be a blessing that was almost dropped into Six’s lap. When she would be stripped apart and rewired into a system, TiTAN would pledge everlasting love to Six, and they would live happily ever after.

Looking back on it, that plan was terribly convoluted. They never planned on wanting Ava, or growing attached to her.

They leaned against the wall, drumming their fingers on the edge of their armor. It’s not like they could find another immortal pure Vengess to throw into the center of a planet.

TiTAN also sent a carrier over to pick up Ava, so they could start the process before their leading General arrived, and the plan would already be in its second stage by their return.

They couldn’t do anything, their hands were tied. The captor could not set free the beloved princess, and so Six turned and looked over their shoulder towards the doorway to the prison units.

They couldn’t do anything.

They hoped to whatever power was left in the universe, that Ava could do something instead.

OOOOO

“Y-You’re telling me th-that my d-demon, and her d-demon, are h-husband and wife?”

Ava nodded, trying not to smile. In spite of their circumstances, that was pretty funny.

“Th-This is the w-worst day of my life.”

“I doubt that,” she replied smoothly, the cauldron perched between her legs as she stirred, the concoction within shivering and frothing, the colors so bright they illuminated against Ava’s skin in bright blues and sunset hues.

“Wh-What are you c-cooking?”

“Something sinister,” she grinning, opening her lips to show teeth like ceramic shards, smooth and deadly. He scooted away a little and Ava laughed, tossing her head back to exhale plumes of smoke that had long been contained in the bottom of her lungs.

“S-So you’re a p-princess?”

“Ugh, don’t call me that. That title has given me nothing but trouble and more than a few scars,” she pulled a small, empty glass vial out from the folds of her skirt and scooped a small amount of the liquid within, before dropping a black tooth into it. She plugged it and shook, and the contents began to froth and shimmer, churning like a living organism. She slipped it back into her robes and grabbed a few swaths of cloth, and plunged them into the thick concoction, shutting the lid over it. “And we’re almost through!” she clapped her hands excitedly.

**It’s about time.**

_I worked as quickly as I could, father. What matters is that we’re nearly there._

“S-So, what is it?” Odin asked again, leaning over a little.

“None of your concern – here,” she handed him a woven bag stuffed with herbs, large as a melon “use this as a pillow and get some rest. You’ll need it.” He accepted it, and after a few moments he slipped into a slumber. Humans exhaust so easily, she knew that.

As long as he was asleep, she slipped out of her first shirt, only wearing her tanktop, and was planning on changing outfits, but a strangled moan caught her attention.

Maggie, that was the girl’s name – she was sitting up with a hand on her forehead. “Ugh, what happened-?” and upon setting eyes on Ava she shot backwards, her head hitting the energy field and lightly zapping her.

“I am not Wrathia,” Ava clarified calmly, her mouth tasting bitter with the sentence.

“But…” Maggie sat forward, pulling her hair over her shoulder “you look just like her, and- My hair!” She yanked on the scarlet curls. “Why is my hair red?!”

“The same reason you’ve got a drawer on your chest and skin that looks like an active volcano,” Ava pointed out with a small flick in her direction, and Maggie made a shrill noise.

“Augh! My shirt! And my boobs! What the fuck!”

“It looks like the pacts Wrathia used manifested in physical form,” Ava leaned forward a little and tapped the wood of the drawer with the tip of her claw “as a way of making a direct link between two forms. I bet if you twist that key she’s left something inside for you.”

Maggie cupped her arms over her chest and drew back, scowling. “If you’re not Wrathia, how do you know about it?”

Ava handed her the shirt she stripped off and exhaled shakily. “I am her daughter.”

The pactmaker stared, blinking owlishly. “She said she had an egg, but… she didn’t mention _you_.”

“She wouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“You are not the only one Wrathia hates,” Ava tucked her legs underneath herself neatly. “I was a potential threat to her rule. My father, her first husband, was slaughtered, but when they could not defeat me as a child they knew I could usurp the throne as an adult. I was exiled in an attempt to be rid of me.”

Maggie was nodding slowly, looking at the shirt in her hands. “So… I guess she thinks you’re dead, if she didn’t talk about you.”

“I can assume that, considering her husband thought I was dead.” Ava produced her pipe and began stuffing the innards with dried flowers.

“Wait, you know where Pedri is?”

She jabbed a thumb Odin’s direction. “He’s the ex-King’s host.”

“Wha- seriously?”

“Completely. Believe me,” Ava stuck the pipe between her teeth “the last people I wanted to see were those two, and they’ve tossed themselves at me expertly.”

Maggie picked at the wood of her pact, looking at it anxiously.

“You might as well get it over with,” she exhaled, and with a touch of magic the blots of violet smoke formed into circling butterflies, dissipating with each delicate wingbeat. Maggie watched them with a wondrous expression. “You’ll be fine,” Ava said aloud, continuing to smoke.

“What’s up with all the support?”

“You maybe have been Wrathia’s host,” she replied neutrally “but I was her child. If there is anyone that would understand whatever you have gone through, it would be me. And I sympathize. Had I known that mother cursed herself, I would have spent time seeking her out rather than…” she trailed off. “Anyway, my pact and yours are probably parallel in description.”

Maggie looked a little suspicious, but Ava expected that, and she smiled in response. “Besides, imagine how pissed off Wrathia will be when she finds out I’m alive,” she winked and Maggie’s face flushed with gold.

“You’re not half bad,” Maggie finally admitted, scratching the back of her head. “But… how will we get out of here?”

“I have had a plan long in progress before these people even captured me,” she waved a hand idly towards the direction of the energy field “and something like this could not stop it.”

Maggie looked down at the shirt before holding it against her chest, exhaling slowly, calming herself. “Do you think I made the right choice? Making this pact – deciding to live?”

“There is no right and wrong,” Ava let violet smoke trail up out of her mouth, surrounding her like a halo “but you have made the most courageous choice.”

The fresh pactmaker ducked her chin against her collar in response, copper curls covering her shoulders and covering the edges of the wooden pact in her chest. Her face was glowing, and Ava chuckled a little.

“My name is Ava. Ava ire.”

“Maggie Lacivi…”

“ **PRISONERS**.”

They both turned as a scavenger scuttled over on long clicking legs, almost insect-like, its single eye burning brightly even in the haze of the energy field. “ **YOU ARE TO BE RELOCATED**.” Maggie’s eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to snap something, but Ava placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

“Not now, spitfire. Contact Wrathia: find out what you can do.”

Maggie nodded as Odin was prodded awake, and they were both dragged to a cell on the far side of the room, both on either side of a divider.

**This has been an interesting turn of events.**

Ava looked down and grit her teeth, digging her claws into her lap _. I’m not letting them go. They’re coming with me whether they like it or not._

**Good.**

OOOOO

Gil watched as the others were transferred to other cells, per his request. Ava already had allies in criminals she had already met, making her more dangerous than originally thought.

Plus, Six had already taken a liking to her. That was a bit more than concerning…

He could smell sea air and saw the rainbow shimmer of ocean bubbles around his torso. “Nevy?”

She peeked over his shoulder and leaned her pink arms around his throat, smiling sweetly. “I wanted to talk to you about something!” Gil smiled back, mottled black scars across his cheeks pulling with the expression.

“Sure, but I’ll be checking the Vengess halfer’s blood while we’re talking, okay?” He slipped back into the medic bay and began flicking through various tests. “What did you want to talk about?”

“That Vengess girl, the older one…” Nevy settled her palms on her face and puckered her lips. “I could swear I’ve seen her before!”

Gil leaned back from the datascreen, quirking a brow. “Wait, like we’ve seen her before? Where?”

“No, _I’ve_ seen her before. I remember her.”

Gil shot back from his chair, his shoulders tense as he gave her an awestruck expression. “That’s impossible.”

She rubbed her temples, as though she had a headache. “I know it is – I know she can’t really be someone I know, she can’t be, but… I recognize her. The way she moves, and talks, and how she looks, it’s just – it’s so familiar to me, Gil!”

He put a hand to his chin, biting his lower lip, showing dark teeth and a black tongue when he licked his chapped lips. “Maybe she’s related to someone you knew?”

Nevy’s neon eyes flicked up to look at him, and she shrugged. “Maybe… I don’t know Gil. I get this feeling though, in the pit of my stomach…” and she settled her hands there, wiggling her fingers anxiously, her hair pulling and frothing behind her like ocean waves “…that she’s a good person.”

“Are you kidding me? Nevy, she attacked the General, she’s in cahoots with the other prisoners, we can’t say how many other scavenger ships she’s attacked before-!”

“I know!” She leaned back and crossed her arms, running her hands along her forearms “But… if there’s any way you can be with Six without hurting her, I think that would be best.”

He grit his teeth and looked down. “So what, because you might remember someone like the core, you want me to bend over backwards for her?”

“Of course not Gil, don’t be silly. If you can’t think of any other way to catch Six up, then do what you have to do. I just thought that maybe, you know,” she kicked her legs a little “you’d still want to help me find my memories, too.”

His bitterness dispersed like seeds on the wind, the clotting anger pushed apart at his beloved guardian’s words. “I do! I want to help! I promised you a long time ago that once TiTAN’s empire was rebuilt, that I would be among the few who would be able to ask TiTAN anything they want, including how to restore your memory – but for that to happen, the Vengess has to become the core.”

Nevy dipped her head down until her chin was touching her knees. “I get it, yeah…”

 He frowned and sat up, pushing the chair into the desk and nearing her. “Listen, Nevy… you’ve always been my top priority. If I can find a way to do things without harming the Vengess… then I’ll see what I can do, okay?”

She smiled a little. “And I’ll keep helping you with Six.”

Gil opened his mouth to speak when they both heard muffled yelling, the words distorted from being echoed down the ship’s hallway. “Is that… the prisoners? Yelling?” he questioned.

OOOOO

Maggie slapped her hand against the black metal wall, little sparks coming off her finger-tips. “I wouldn’t have died if it weren’t for you, you- you stuttering bastard!”

From the other side in the parallel cell, Odin was leaned back against the wall, gesturing wildly “I d-didn’t k-kill you, y-you b-blew up the r-reactor! Wh-What was I s-supposed to d-do?!”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe not kidnap anyone?! I can’t believe you have one of the demons I’m supposed to be looking for!”

“I-Its n-not like I p-picked him out of a c-candystore, you t-trigger-h-happy maniac!”

“Oh yeah? But you picked _me_ to kidnap?” She banged on the wall, stomping a foot, finally declaring “You’re such a pervert!”

“I-It w-wasn’t like th-that!” He sat up, face flushed dark. “I w-wasn’t g-going to d-do a-anything l-li-like th-th- _that_ w-with you!”

“Yeah right!” She finally sat down on the bed, folding her arms across a stiff chest “Why else would you kidnap me? I bet you were going to sell me because no one would miss me. Is that it?!”

“N-No! I w-wasn’t g-going to h-hurt you!”

“How am I supposed to believe a single word _flying_ -” and although he couldn’t see it, she jerked her hand from her face, spreading her fingers apart sharply “-out of that hairy-ass face of yours!”

“I h-have a c-completely n-normal amount of b-body hair f-for guys m-my age.”

“Yeah, and what are you, thirty?”

He made a startled choking noise, and she heard something like a heavy object hitting the metal floor. Odin was sprawled on the ground where he stood too suddenly and slipped on the sleek black metal, his back on the ground.

“…oh my god, did you just trip?”

“No, of course not.”

“You totally did, you hairy old pervert liar!”

“I’m n-not a-!”

“Would you two keep it down?!”

They both looked up to see a scavenger, with sky blue skin, twisted with black vein-works, his eyes neon white.

Odin groaned. “O-Oh g-great, it’s the m-mob doctor. J-Just what I n-need.”

Maggie blinked in fascination, looking over his form. His hair was silvery and wavy as the ocean foam crashed against a beach, with strange black teeth and scars that showed like shadow dyed into his skin. His hair and skin looked other-worldly on a ship constructed of blacks and reds, a dull glow behind him. His eyes flicked to her, and he blinked. “So you are awake – and here I thought it might be Ava arguing.”

Maggie swallowed. “Uh, yeah it’s – I’m awake.” She pulled on her shirt anxiously. “Can I leave?”

He shook his head crossing his arms and tilting his head in a way that flashed his throat as he looked down at her with those strange eyes. “You stole a scavenger ship.”

She instantly stepped forward, fists at her sides. “I didn’t! He did! And then he kidnapped me too!”

He looked from Maggie to Odin’s cell, murmuring “Really, now…”

“Yes, I just – I really want to leave,” she put her hands together, arching her back a little and leaning forward on one foot, her lower lip wobbling slightly “Please?”

“Ah – but where would you go? Your planet has been destroyed, and you’re far too precious to simply _let_ go.”

She went lax. “What?”

“You, you’re important – we need you here.”

Her face erupted several shades of gold, fire licking up the inside of her bones as she blushed. “Oh, I – I see…” She took a few steps back and rubbed her arms. “What’s your name?”

He smiled, and it was a combination of smudged black and pure white teeth. “Gil Marverde. I am the leading doctor aboard this vessel.”

Maggie curled a lock of her hair between her fingers, smiling bashfully. “Ah… Well, uhm, Gil, how long will I need to stay here?”

He turned, saying “Probably as long as she will- wait, what?” Maggie looked over his shoulder and saw Ava curled up on the floor of her cell, fast asleep. “How did she sleep through your arguments? You were loud enough to hear in the medic bay!”

Odin snorted. “I-If sh-she’s been h-here for a wh-while, sh-she’s probably h-heard worse.”

Gil turned and glared, his pupils taking on a ghostly glow. In a liquid like movement he glided over to the edge of Odin’s cell silent as tricking water, and replied lowly “Do not start with me, thief.”

They glared at each other, and Maggie looked down at her pact. She had called Wrathia, albeit quickly with the cameras watching them all, but she didn’t _help_ at all. Ava seemed to be the only way out of this, being the only person with the answers Maggie needed and the power to fulfill her mission – but she was sleeping?

What was she dreaming about?

As though on cue, Ava sat up suddenly, her head bobbing forward. They all turned.

“Ah, I knew they would wake you up,” Gil commented.

She turned and looked at them, but the expression was wild, eyes wide and pupils blown, her hands trembling at her sides. They all felt a collective sensation of unease, as though there was some great catastrophe steadily burning in the distance, and even Gil took a step back towards Maggie and Odin’s cells.

Ava rustled around silently in her skirt, before pulling out a single black vial.

OOOOO

Six felt their heart ache horribly in their chest, throbbing with needles of pain.

The ship was here.

The ship to take Ava to TiTAN, where he would strip her apart and eat up her mind until she was nothing but a core.

That was the plan.

That was why they captured her.

But oh, they stared at the enter key with a lurch of hesitation. If they opened up the bay, the ship would enter, take Ava, and leave. They would never see her again. They would never see her scowl, or her smile like wicked lava, or hear her careful jeers or laughter like wind-chimes and bee-pollen.

Their hand lingered over the ‘enter’ key, trembling.

OOOOO

“Ava, you’re weirding me out,” Maggie called out, but she scarcely heard her.

**Take it, Ava.**

Her hand was tight around the glass, her palms beginning to sweat with stress, streaks of clear gold down her skin.

**Drink the vial.**

If she did that, hers and Gaveen’s power would be unleashed. She would have the power to destroy anything, to kill anyone, to reclaim her world and her universe.

**We will be free.**

But Gaveen would be in her mind even more, his voice in every moment of the day, his criticism and commands forever burrowing through the soft matter of her mind.

**Take it, Ava.**

She swallowed hard, blinking rapidly, biting her tongue.

**Drink it.**

OOOOO

Six pressed down on one of the keys, and drawing their hand back the word “DENY ENTRANCE” blinked dully at them in red.

They could not let Ava go.

They couldn’t.

The ship would have to wait – they were entrapped by the sun, and was now addicted to the warmth. It didn’t matter if Ava didn’t love them, as long as they kept her in that cell, she would never leave them.

Not even if she wanted to.

OOOOO

Maggie watched as Ava poured the contents of the vial into her mouth, a foul looking concoction spattering black against campfire colors.

A moment passed – and then Ava gagged, blood and lava flaring from her mouth as she staggered forward on all fours. Her clothes began to burn off, blackened as her skin burned brighter than any dying star, her skin blotching thicker and brighter shades of fire in her flesh.

The horns on either side of her head stretched and suddenly grew into an arc around each pointed ear, and blood dripped down her forehead where they broke the skin in budding so fast. Her third eye was glowing white, the scar tissue trembling silver and gold, her hair frothing around her in fantastic maroons and shades of the most pure sunsets, the color of spilled wine seconds before hitting the ground.

She screamed, and the noise was so overpowering Maggie collapsed on her knees with her hands clamped over her ears, but it did nothing to prevent the sound from worming into her mind and echoing the sound of pure suffering.

Ava’s midsection exploded with veins and sinews, pulsing that same  burgundy shade, quivering and shuddering as they wrapped around and fused, flesh and skin forming like pools of cells bursting from the core of the limbs, long shoots similar to fingers stiffening at the ends.

Ava leaned back on her knees, her expression pulled into a feral snarl as her skin began to pull and twist, the color and texture changing – her cauldron was spilled over on the ground, and the contents had pooled around her knees, easing up her limbs as her fleshy clothing, sporadic and fibrous, began to fuse and create a completely different outfit from her very matter.

She stretched out and yanked on the fleshy protrusions on their side of her body and they began to smooth and take shape, as though some invisible hand was forming a handful of fiery clay – a second pair of arms had formed, and she now had four hands filled with deadly claws, her hair flickering and whipping behind her like a sea of blood crashing against her shoulders.

Her outfit looked more like a warrior’s ceremonial gear than anything, pulled under her first pair of arms and wrapped over her breasts to cross over her midsection in rosy and pearly colors, and she now wore a pitch black pair of traditional Vengess pants, the cuffs tightened at her knees.

She shuddered, as though her bones were snapping into place, before rising to her feet.

She was taller – she flexed all four of her arms, bending each digit of her fingers, rolling her shoulders, showing sharp muscles – before exhaling a plume of sparkling magic smoke.

Her eyes snapped open, pure scarlet surrounding pools of gold.

Her mouth bent into an uneven smile, showing teeth that were sharp, even for a Vengess, and she held her hands up at either side, the fingers a dark garnet before fading into ivory yellows, her insides pumping power, magma churning under her eyes, pooling in her sclera, dripping down the edge of her mouth.

If Wrathia had seen it, she would have said Ava was the spitting image of her father.

She laughed, the sound of twisting metal and the shriek of shattering glass, and Gil took another step back, horrified and frozen, every instinct screaming to run as his legs seized up.

“Gil,” Nevy whispered, her voice shaking painfully. “This is bad.”

He tried to say something but his words were strangled in his throat – Ava took a step forward and white-hot energy tendrils burst from her step, the colors of the sunny sky exploding her cell into slabs of dripping magma around her.

Ava laughed breathily, her eyes wide.

“Gil,” Nevy spoke again “this is really bad.”

The demon ran her left hands along the cell beside hers and the electricity sparked, all of the fields unravelling and flickering out in a single breath.

“Gil,” Nevy’s voice was almost so quiet he could barely hear it over the ringing in his ears, his eyes burning terribly from all the bright light, his skin throbbing from the heat “this is wonderful.”

He turned to her, eyes wide and damp from agony.

“I remember who she is.”

 


	5. the Tipping Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this chapter in the works for a while and then I sort of plowed through to finish up some finer details, so don't be surprised if you reread it and find things are tweaked a little? I just really wanted to get this chapter out so we can get this thing movin', so there's going to be some editing later.

Ava felt whole.

No, that wasn’t right – she was smoothed around the edges, bumps and nooks filled or glazed in warmth, something pulsing so pure and invigorating she felt like weeping with relief.

Her body was twisted and she whimpered a little from the pain, but other than that – other than the pain, the crippling pain – she felt good. She felt dizzyingly happy, like she was a pup again and was playing on the palace steps, surrounded by hot flowers as she danced in the volcanic soil, cozy and crunchy under her feet.

Then she looked down, the soil was gone but there was still something black and brittle under her foot. Thick, black blood stuck to her ankles and she smiled. It was like a beetle, a little insect with one piercing red eye.

**_Destroy them._ **

Her smile grew, evolving into a feral snarl as she swiped at another pesky bug. Pesky! She wanted them gone.

**_Burn the scavengers apart._ **

The memories gushed against the walls of her mind, coming in droplets, piecemeal and vague yet so clear she could see through them completely. The little pesky bugs were Scavengers, murderers, the scourge of the ever expanding universe. They were a cancer slowly swelling and eating, until they would eat up the stars at last.

**_BURN._ **

She roared and flames so mighty and powerful they might’ve come from Hell burst from her open mouth and incinerated the creatures that charged at her, the metal around her going white hot and malleable as dough.

The metal underneath her collapsed and she fell with it, but did not tumble – the very air seemed to cushion her and hold her dearly, **_my precious daughter_** whispered in her ears as she landed on all fours with her extra arms extended and taut. She flourished her claws and looked up between the locks of hair that toppled across her vision.

Her eyes darted across the room, and someone thought to her _there’s twelve scavengers, seven on the right and six on the left_ , though she wasn’t sure if it was herself or her father. It didn’t matter though, because she stood and grunted, magma and acid surging up her throat before her lungs complied.

She stood up straight and her bones cracked into place to obey her – Ava’s body listened like a well-trained dog. When she said _make me stronger_ her muscles burned like electric blades were embedded in them and went tight with strength. When she thought _I want to kill_ her hands were already thirsty for blood, shooting forward like a striking viper and rendering heads from their necks.

It was like teetering on the very edge, she was at the top of her palace with hot rain hitting her face as she leaned forward, just enough to see how high up she was, just enough to see how far she could fall, feeling the excitement and adrenaline pump through her heart. She could hear her heartbeat in her head, a steady and strong rhythm.

Ava felt like she was the sun, and she was staring out at everyone else, her insides burning maliciously, scorching the inner walls of her eyes and pushing liquid fire from her lips.

A scavenger lunged at her from above, previously clambering up the wall like a spider, but she plucked it down as though it was a sour fruit and crushed it with one hand. The shriek it let out before dying was like the birdsong on Vengess Prime. The sticky black tar on her palm was like the sap of the giant trees that bordered her room.

Among the carnage and bloodshed, Ava felt like she was home.

A group of scavengers charged at her from different angles, but she had the limbs and the mind to kill them all before their pupils could tighten in fear from her encroaching attack.

It felt so natural; instincts drowned her and everything was sensitive, but not to the point of pain. She could feel the floor rattle under her feet as a scavenger leapt up behind her and she struck it down with ease and swollen confidence. However, that last attack reminded her she wasn’t in a simple void.

The room snapped into focus. It was a lower level. A distant part of her reminded that she had to fetch Maggie and Odin, but it was like the tut-tutting of a beloved caretaker, the subtle thought as substantial as smoke, and it soon dissipated as she saw more enemies.

More enemies.

It was addicting, feeling the way their skulls shattered under her palms, how the blood spattered across the walls and over her body before burning off – she inhaled deeply and instantly rocketed off one foot.

More enemies!

In the complicated maze of Ava’s mind, her father laughed so hard you could hear it out his daughter’s mouth.

OOOOO

The room was falling apart.

Metal rolled down into the lower levels in fat droplets, and the edge of Maggie’s cell was melting. She initially cringed in fear of being burned, but quickly found that the heat didn’t hurt her, not at all.

She pushed herself through the unstable metal and it scorched her clothes a little, but she was out of her cage. She heard someone bark aloud in distress and pain, and found Odin was perched up on the metal frame of his bed as the room melted apart.

She thought about leaving him, but remembered he had a ghost she needed to complete her pact, and thought better of it. Maggie pulled the heat-softened bars apart like they were weak as cobwebs before hoisting Odin up.

“Wh- _What_ the h-hell-?” he coughed as she slung him like a sack over one shoulder.

“I’m saving your ass, is _what_!” She ducked under the bars and when she stepped onto the molten metal it sunk weakly under her feet. It felt unstable and thick, like sun-warmed peanut-butter. She felt sick at the feel of it and forced her way through it. Odin was scrambling and wiggling so much it was a miracle she didn’t drop him onto the lethal surface.

She finally pulled them through it and tossed Odin onto stable metal, her shoes burned apart.

The room was engulfed in fire, yet it didn’t feel deadly. The licks of flame almost felt friendly, the skims of fire like affectionate winks.

“Weird,” she mumbled, before remembering neon eyes and warped smiles – “Gil!” She spun around, and found he had already fled out the other side of the confinement area.

“W-Worry about y-your own sk-skin!” Odin snapped as he pushed himself up to his feet. The fire in in the room may not have touched him but the heat was pooled in the air, and his fingers and face had begun to darken like a sunburn. “W-We have t-to get out of h-here! I th-think I kn-know where they k-keep the ships!”

Distantly, they heard the echo of power-drunk laughter, grating against the walls and hot on their necks. It came from a floor below them.

“Is on the floors below us?”

Odin nodded.

“Figures.”

OOOOO

It felt like companionship. The magic in the air would glide down Ava’s skin like the loving rub of a hound’s soft fur, or a serpent coiling up her limbs.

She annihilated another squad of Scavengers. It was so satisfying, so pure in the irony of it all.

**_Daughter, we must destroy the engines of this ship. Then we can escape without survivors._ **

“I agree,” she replied giddily. “Can you believe it, they just keep coming! How futile!”

He chuckled, and it reverberated through her own lungs as though she was the one laughing. She didn’t find it strange at all. This was how it was supposed to be, she was foolish to hesitate taking the vial.

She plunged her hand into the black metal of the wall and ran alongside it, ripping the inner wiring apart, electricity dancing along her arm.

“ **This is what a pact is all about!** ” The pair of souls said in unison, and they wreaked chaos like no other.

The blood of the scavengers smelled familiar. Had she smelled this before? It reminded her of when she used to skin her knees playing as a child, and the memory seemed so at home in the fire that she reveled in it, pounding too many fists into the nearby door and shattering it into glittering fragments.

Not the engine room, but close. This room tasted like fire that wasn’t her own, and she was quick to exterminate the Scavengers that scuttled up to her in opposition. She was busy looking around, and her third eye rolled about, tracing the energy in the room. Down another room, she could distantly see it, like sunlight breaking out between clouds the color bruises.

Ava lifted her hands and pounded the ground till it gave way, the support beams crumbling. It was so easy!

The engines sang, far away whistles and whispering. She moved towards them, smashing her palms into the beasts that pursued her.

_Yes_ , they thought in unison. _End it all, kill these scavengers and then all the scavengers and we will live like no other being would or ever can._

A single voice tore across the room, and the sound of it split Ava’s heartbeat in two, her father’s thrumming in the savage want of murder and her own in the fierce twist of heartache.

“ _Ava_!”

She turned agonizingly slowly, and upon seeing snowy blue hair her lungs seized.

“ ** _Six_** ,” she said aloud, and was suddenly aware of how alien her voice sounded. Was it even hers?

_Traitor_ , hissed the twisted, primal part of her mind _, kill it, kill it and I’ll eat it and we’ll understand the scavengers, and they won’t ever leave us, they’ll be in the pit of our stomach and in our veins and we’ll never be alone again-_

“Ava, please,” Six stumbled forward, tripping on a scavenger corpse and putting up their forearms to shield their face from the flames “what are you doing?!”

“ **You wanted to kill me** ,” she realized aloud. “ **You wanted me torn apart to be used like an engine. Well I’ll show you what I think of engines _,_** ” she stomped down the hall, shredding the walls with an extra pair of arms as she smashed another door down and saw the sweet scarlet of the generators. It smelled like raw meat and chemicals in the engine room – she scrunched her nose at the scent.

Something toppled into her back but she didn’t budge – she spun around in abrupt fury and Six recoiled from her in fear. It was satisfying and it hurt to see.

She scooped them up by the throat and she slammed them up against the wall with a single hand. They clawed at it desperately, but she could barely feel it, like there was several layers of cotton between them and the gesture.

“ **I was a fool** ,” Ava cocked her head, her eyes scanning over their face. One of her hands came up and ripped the mask off of them, tucking it into her belt – a memento. “ **I was a real fool to think you respected me and saw me as an equal. Cages, word games, the conversations – the idle words of a puppet scavenge _r_** ,” she droned unhappily. The scream of magic in her veins felt rotten as she held them up against the wall.

They grunted, and she could see their face without the mask, a beautiful pale facade, like her mother’s servants. They finally forced their eyes open past the suffocation and the blue flush on their cheeks was almost charming. They never looked so alive before.

She brought up a hand and stroked their cheek, her grip on them loosening.

“ **Perhaps you should have set me free when I asked**.”

**_Now kill them._ **

“Ava,” they struggled desperately, their head arching as they squirmed, enough to see the pale flash of their throat “listen to me, please-”

**_Rip out their throat and drink their blood,_** her father commanded.

_Eat them alive and they’ll never leave us_ , the darkness of her mind whispered sweetly.

She held their arms against their sides with two more hands and jammed their face upwards with her third, leaning towards their neck. Tucking her mouth against it she could feel their heartbeat, blood clambering through their body in pure panic.

Six bit her hand, flat teeth sinking into her skin but not breaking the surface. The gesture was so startling she scraped them along the wall and tossed them across the room – they dented the far wall with the impact, bits of metal scattering onto their limp form.

_Are they dead? Don’t be dead_ , she thought with a displaced innocence, and her father struck it down, flaring furiously **_that doesn’t matter! The engine!_** Her head sliced sharply with his outburst and she cried out, putting a palm over both her ears.

“I know! Stop it, stop-”

**_Stop dragging your feet! I have given you immortality and power, instead you dance around frivolously with it! I should have left you to die as a whelp!_ **

“Stop!” she screamed franticly, slamming her forehead into the nearby wall, her muscles betraying her, the twinges of pain overpowering the sweet song of power. Her body went taut and then languid as she groaned on the ground, the fever haze dream of control pulling like wool from her eyes.

Her father was always cruel, and now his words turned to needles in her nerves and ragged slits through her brain.

The price of her power came crashing down as her father’s words pierced her mind fully, and she cried out in agony.

OOOO

Six’s eyes crept open in bewilderment as Ava screamed at nothing, clawing her head and face until she bled. They should have been disgusted, or afraid, or at least frozen in shock – but none of that occurred.

They looked at Ava, and their chest hurt. She was scared, and she was hurting. They didn’t ever want her to be afraid.

Six tried to stand up and their limbs reminded them of the abuse they just encountered and they sobered instantly, fingers twitching in surprise. They managed to push themselves up against the wall, breathing heavily – their enhanced anatomy was already easing the pain, wounds stitching together at a speed that would leave human doctors in bafflement.

They were surrounded by the light flurry of ash, and breathing air unfiltered began to make each breath sharpen. They glanced up to see Ava in the fetal position, slouched over her knees with her forehead to the ground as she held herself with all her hands. Even with the extra limbs it didn’t look like enough to keep her safe from whatever was driving her mad.

“Ava?” they rasped cautiously.

A moment passed, some of the earlier fires finally being extinguished by a few repairing scavengers.

“Ava-?”

She shot across the room, her eyes wide with panic. For the split second they could see her face, they thought she looked more scared than they were.

Then their thoughts went to static as she smashed them back into the wall and held them aloft with all her many arms. What happened to her? Why was she like this?

“I need to kill you,” she muttered, as though she was talking to herself, her chin ducked into her collar “you’re in our _way_.” She sounded more like herself again, but it was in the worst way – she sounded like Ava the way she recalled blood, she sounded like Ava in the way she cringed and snarled –

She sounded like Ava in the way she hurt.

“Ava, listen to me,” they reasoned “please, you have nothing to lose by listening to me.”

She didn’t move, and they took that as a cue to speak again. “I can – earlier, I denied TiTAN’s request to take you, I’m on _your_ side.”

Her face twisted in wrath before she tossed them back across the room, but this time they bounced off the ground once before landing in a pile of hot scavenger carcasses. They instinctively curled in on themselves, wincing.

She looked like a wild animal, the way she hunched forward and her hair frothed behind her like a boiling ocean, her claws moving subtly to remind them that they were in the vicinity of a beast.

“ ** _They’re lying to us_** ,” she said in a voice unlike her own, harder, louder and infinitely crueler “ ** _they’re just trying to get away before giving us to TiTAN._** ”

_Us?_

“If I wanted to get away I would have run while you were on the ground,” they snapped back, wiping their mouth of blood. They bit their tongue on that last toss. “Ava, _listen_!” they hissed.

“ **NO**! You hurt me,” she pointed a finger at them accusingly, and her voice dripped with honesty. The rawness of it choked their voice and so she shot a hand out to kill them, to tear their organs out of their body, but their voice leapt from their mouth fast enough to hit her ears before her hand could hit them.

“Take me with you!”

She blinked and pulled back, shoulders sinking. They recognized that body language, and they pulled a smile onto their face in acknowledgment.

“I don’t – I don’t want to lose you,” they said quietly. “Even if it meant keeping you in a cage, I didn’t know what else to do, I don’t know what to do _now_ , I just-” they reached out clumsily and put a hand on her arm. She flinched from the contact. “-don’t leave me. Please.”

“You can’t hurt me and then do this. It’s not _fair_ ,” fire flecked from her mouth with the last word. She looked confused, and angry, and it was then Six came to the realization that Ava was not one of those girls you can confess to while they’re mad. She glared and backed away before her palms opened to grasp the air.

Energy pulled from the fire around them and it curled about her hands like ribbon before straightening, prickling the air and smelling like honeycomb with the natural sweetness of magic.

She tightened her hands and swung them about her in a complicated and beautiful dance, swinging her arms and curling them around each other in a braid, twirling her body. She flicked her hands out, magic solidifying into something tangible. 

Scimitars. She just summoned a sword for each hand.

She glared at them.

“Oh, _hell_.”

OOOOO

Gil stumbled down the emergency stairs, occasionally getting knocked against the walls as the ship went off center. The main stabilizer must’ve been damaged.

“ _Gil_!” Nevy tugged at him, though he couldn’t feel it “ _Gil listen to me! I know who she is! I know Ava!_ ”

He snapped his head up, panting, beads of sweat dripping down his chin. “Wh-Who is she? Some kind of interstellar demon or what?!” He slumped into a sitting position, rubbing his face.

Nevy shook her head frantically. “ _No, no! Ava is my friend, Gil! I remember her_!”

“That _thing_ was your friend?”

_“She wasn’t like that before! She was a lot younger when I last saw her, and she was – she was bloody, and scared,_ ” Nevy put a hand to her head, hoping the pressure would help her recall more. “ _She was – is – the princess of the Vengess, before her stepfather exiled her._ ”

“What’s that got to do with why she’s a monster killing everything now?” he asked in exasperation, bracing himself against the wall as the ship groaned.

“ _She made a pact, Gil_!”

“…a what.”

Before Nevy could continue, Gil’s ears spiked with static, his vision crackling in garnet hues. A signal blared in his mind as his limbs went slack: _kill the intruder. Kill the thing killing us._

_You are a scavenger._

“Priority Omega,” he enunciated clearly, his eyes half lidded as the scavenger implants flexed their roots in his brain “kill the Vengess.” He remembered this sensation, and it was pure and real and comforting like a mother cradling him.

He stood, cracking his neck and stretching leisurely before walking down the stairs evenly, hearing only the signal, thinking of only the signal, the shuffle of a hundred other scavengers in his head doing the same thing. He forgot how comforting it was to be pulled back into the hive-mind. He vaguely thought how terrible his enemy must be if the scavenger signal called even him to the mantle, but he accepted it with open arms.

The hive was his family.

“ _Gil? Gil, **no**!_ ”

He walked on, unaware.

OOOOO

Maggie slipped in a scavenger corpse, the blood pooling across the ground in great stagnant puddles of tar. She winced at the feel of it – their blood felt thick and gritty.

“St-Stop hesitating,” Odin hissed as he jogged down the hall.

“Hey, you’re not the one that’s barefoot you hairy pervert.”

“I-I’m not a pervert,” he mumbled again, before looking around a corner. There was a few squads of Scavengers in the ship bay, crowded around the doorways and clambering up the ceilings. Odin ducked back into the hall.

They recently passed by the medic bay, and Odin found his gun – with half the heat clips than when he started. That was barely useful, so he took a few deep breathes.

“H-Here’s the pl-plan, Maggie. Y-You take out the f-first few Sc-Scavengers and I’ll go f-forward and t-take out the o-ones ahead of m-me. Th-Then you b-back me up and I’ll st-start a ship. Wh-When it st-starts, you h-hop in and w-we bail.”

“Are you serious?” she snapped, backing away. “I’m not Ava, I’ve never killed anyone before, much less those eyeball things!”

“Y-Yeah, but y-you’re a – a p-pactmaker, r-right? D-Didn’t y-your demon g-give you any w-weapons?”

“It doesn’t work like that!”

“We-Well _excuse_ me, I as-assumed you kn-knew something about th-the deal you made,” he snarled in reply, leaning forward menacingly.

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black, you haven’t even made a pact!”

“And f-for g-good reason!”

A faceless head pushed them apart, a single eye looking between them as they fell to the ground. They both fell to their backs, gasping in surprise, Odin fumbling for his gun, but the scavenger leapt _over_ them. Before either of them could decipher what just happened, the scavenger was thrown back, sliced in half, gushing blood. Its organs glowed red, like the heart of an ember, and twitched slightly as its corpse slid away.

“Wh-What-”

Six dashed between them, snapping “Running is a good idea!” before Odin and Maggie exchanged a look and zeroed in on the direction they were sprinting from.

Ava was slicing scavengers apart like they were butter, four arms in constant motion, tossing the drones off her in mild discomfort. She was still moving forward at a steady pace in spite of the fact that the Scavengers were throwing everything at her, and even their greatest efforts had little effect against her unyielding power.

Odin scrambled to his feet and yanked Maggie’s to hers as they ran away, but at every step they were getting knocked over by other scavengers clambering to try and kill Ava in vain. Maggie finally managed to hold onto Odin and push them both underneath a parked scavenger vessel. The crab-like creatures skittered over the top of the ship and not over the two organics hunched underneath it, so the two of them exhaled a breath of relief.

“You alright?” Maggie asked shakily.

“F-Fine. You?”

“Kiiiinda freaked out.”

“S-Same.”

OOOOO

Six was aware they had more room to run, and in the ship bay there was plenty of it – but that wouldn’t solve the problem.

Ava would tear everything apart until she exacted her anger. It was overwhelming her, it was bleaching her away, a blindfold over her sanity. They would have to calm her down before finding out what caused this change in her – they had been practically obsessed with her for the past few weeks, and they would’ve noticed an extra set of arms.

They stopped in place, and automatically groped for their shock prod before stopping. Fighting her wouldn’t work either, she would ream them in battle.

They steadied themselves.

This was going to hurt.

Six turned around, straightening their back and feeling bruises form. They watched Ava peel the other squad of scavengers off her – she was gorgeous, she was fire and wrath and it made them shiver.

Power. Untainted power pushed corpses aside and neared them. Their instinct to run hadn’t been triggered for decades, but it hadn’t forgotten how to work – no, Six was scared.

Ava brandished her blades and breathed heavily, steam puffing out her mouth.

Six cautiously pulled out their shock prod, keeping a level eye contact with Ava, before dropping it to the ground. She blinked in surprise and glanced back up to them, furrowing her brow.

Such changes in their Ava – they should have paid closer attention to her. Her teeth were sharper, she was so tall now, her snarls going a million miles and her hair billowing a million more – they hoped this plan would work.

“Cheating, remember?” they called out, prepping their stance. “Weapons are cheating.”

Her face flickered out of its furious expression in recollection of the memory. The first conversation she ever exchanged with them – _you cheated._

She cocked her head down, her hair pooling over her trembling shoulders, before she threw her head back in boisterous laughter, the noise clattering through the room. “You think I am _any less dangerous_ weaponless?”

“Ava, you would be dangerous hog-tied and chained to a wall,” they called back. “But I do feel if you want to exact your anger to me, it would only be fair to keep to tradition.” On the upside, that crackle in her voice was only an echo now, and she sounded much more like herself.

On the down side, now they couldn’t pretend this wasn’t Ava to make it easier fighting her – they’d have to battle her again well aware that she was the same creature they fell in love with.

Her swords pulled back into their silky state before wrapping around her wrists in the form of bangles. She was quite the specimen now – not only a vengess, but one with powerful magic properties and with metamorphic capabilities? She was rarer than rare – she was _exquisite_.

Six was having trouble decoding their thought process. Should they be afraid or in awe? They kept looking back to her size, to the way her muscles were shaped, up to her face and the sleek shape of her jawline.

_Focus_ , they scolded themselves. They shouldn’t be so distracted or enamored in the face of death.

“There,” she cooed cruelly “no weapons.” She rolled her shoulders back and brought her hands up, clawed and lethal as any blade. “Fight me now, General.”

“No,” they said, and the word was uncertain.

“ _Excuse me?_ ”

“If you want to kill me, come over here and do it. I won’t stop you,” they cajoled further, still stiff in their stance and trembling gradually with fear.

Her face was crippled in indecision – this fight with fire wasn’t the only battle Ava was waging, not with the flurry of emotions crashing over her features. Anger shattered her confusion and she charged – Six put up their forearms in flimsy defense as she rammed into them. They were more prepared this time, digging their heels into the floor and hearing the shriek of their prosthetics strain to slow the blow.

“You need me, Ava!” They hissed as she glared at them, both pushing against the other. She was gaining ground.

“Why would I _ever_ need you?”

“First of all,” they grunted “if you didn’t care about me, you wouldn’t be this upset. Second of all,” their left foot slipped a little and they skid backwards about a foot. “S-Second of all,” they repeated uneasily “I know more about TiTAN than you do. You need an informant!”

Ava eased up a little, and their prosthetics were shaky from strain. She frowned.

“You’re loyal to _TiTAN_.” She shook her head wildly, and Six realized she had been doing that a lot lately, as though there was water in her ears, or more likely, something in her head. “The scavengers killed my people, my family, my home- you’re _TiTAN’s doll_!” she finally shrieked, eyes flaring brightly with fury.

“I can be loyal to you, too! I will be loyal to you- please, you must believe me!”

She shook her head, her grip going a little slacker, a little more uncertain. “You can’t be loyal to opposing forces.”

“Then take me with you. I won’t have a choice if you take me by force.”

Ava realized what they meant – they wanted to join her, but their loyalty was so deep, they couldn’t do it on their own. If she ‘took them by force,’ then they could use that as an excuse to cope with their betrayal to TiTAN.

She blinked at them curiously, and they mustered up something resembling a smile. She finally pulled back from nearly smashing them into the wall; Ava tilted her head and leaned inward, placing a hand on their shoulder tentatively.

“If you betray me, I will strip the flesh off your bones,” her grip tightened “and your remains will be scorched to ash.” Her voice rang true, but she was giving them a chance. That’s all they were asking for.

“Good,” they replied brightly. “I look forward to being stripped.”

A moment of silence settled across the two of them as Ava pulled back, and Six put a hand to their mouth.

“Ah, wait, that’s not what I-”

Before their sentence and apology could be given, a something slit across the room and snapped around Six’s arm. Ava looked back up and followed the line – it was a whip, and the wielder was the Doctor.

“Marverde?!” Six barked angrily. “What are you-?”

“He’s a _scavenger_ ,” Ava announced furiously, her hair flaring like the hackles of a mighty wolf “he’s got the same mission prerogative as all the others!”

Six remembered then – the implants went deep in Marverde. Their own implants were only skin deep, but the Doctor was a scavenger like any other of the creatures on this vessel.

“Marverde, I command you to abandon the current mission!” The Doctor yanked and the whip would have slammed Six into one of the many ships if Ava hadn’t summoned up one of her scimitars and cut the line. The doctor scowled slightly and pulled the whip back, slapping it violently against the ground.

“Marverde, listen to me!”

He lashed it out and wrapped it around one of Ava’s swords. She snapped it again, just as easily, but it was a charged device – electricity danced over the skin of her arm and her lips pulled back in a feral snarl.

“Gil, _stop_!”

OOOOO

That was the second time six ever called him by name.

The first was when he was a little boy, aching and crying softly at the displaced devices under his skin. It hurt, everything hurt… and there were giant, black things everywhere, prodding him with needles. This was a nightmare, right?

Gil had been sitting on a cot and rocking himself, his throat tight and his eyes puffy as he looked over his arms. They were covered in grey bandages, and his left wrist had an IV in it, with a thick glowing liquid being pumped into his body. It prickled and hurt, he didn’t like it, but when he pulled on the needle it hurt worse.

He sobbed into his knees, when he heard –

“What’s your name?”

Someone was talking to him. No chittering, no hissing or rough exoskeletal fingers digging into his shoulders.

He looked up to see blue hair and a displeased face, the mouth of the stranger curled unhappily.

“I asked you a question.”

Gil looked down and saw that the stranger had metal legs, simple in structure. That was weird.

“I’m, uhm. I’m Gil,” he replied shakily. “Gil Marverde.”

The stranger walked up to him and leaned down, studying his face closely. The stranger had skin like paper, and eyes like raw garnets. They were pretty…

“Listen, Gil Marverde,” they repeated the name experimentally “we are the Scavengers. We’ve taken you in and now we’re healing you up. The least you could do is be quiet about your crying.”

“I – I don’t understand,” Gil replied shakily but trying so hard to be brave. The stranger put a palm to their temple and sighed.

“My name is Scavenger Six. I am another organic, like yourself,” they poked him in the tummy for emphasis “and we’re going to be taking care of you now.”

“Taking… care of me?”

“We’re your family now,” Six stood up and pat his head almost affectionately, but the gesture felt forced “so you’d better get used to it. Your technician’s nickname is Kerrakek, so you’d best try to speak with him about any discomfort you’re experiencing now.”

“Ker… Kerrat… Kerrak-k-kek,” Gil mumbled, trying to remember the name, and Six huffed again in exasperation.

“ _Kerra_.”

“Kerra,” Gil repeated.

“ _Kek_.”

“Kek.”

“ _Kerrakek_.”

“Kerrakek,” Gil repeated with a nod. Six smiled slightly.

“Good. You’re a fast learner.” Six put a finger under his chin and tipped his face up. “You’ll do fine here! Don’t you worry at all, Marverde. You’re a scavenger now.”

“I’m a scavenger now,” he had repeated softly to himself as Six left the room.

Gil remembered Kerrakek, too – all the Scavengers who had the capacity to think without the hivemind were mostly with TiTAN now, working to restore his world.

All except for Six and himself, all the other Scavengers were drones.

And now, he was attacking Six.

_No!_

He flinched and pulled back, the whip missing its mark. He didn’t want to attack Six! Why was he attacking? Trying to kill Ava wasn’t worth hurting Six!

The hivemind signal didn’t feel like gentle hands, guiding him and protecting him – there was the familiar prickle of static and needles in his brain where the signal tried to drown out his thoughts.

He groaned as he pulled against it, flinching against the spikes of pain in his head.

“I don’t – Six,” Gil gasped, putting a palm to his face and closing his eyes fiercely “I don’t want to fight, I – the _signal_ ,” he hissed as white hot blades felt like they were slicing through his frontal lobe. However, the hivemeind was powerful, shrieking and grating into his brain, fingernails deep in the grey matter.

He lashed out again with stiff limbs, the whip crackling through the air. Six flipped backwards with their usual liquid grace, but they had been roughed up by Ava enough that they were a little sloppy with the landing, and their prosthetic legs slipped a little as they planted their feet to the floor. They glanced back up to Gil, uncertain, flat red eyes glancing up and down the Doctor’s form – their paper white skin was slick with sweat, and they kept groping for their electric prod. It wasn’t there, they had jettisoned it when fighting Ava.

Gil cracked the whip and begged himself to stop. He was a Doctor, trained with fighting yes but a Doctor; he just wanted to help Six. He just wanted for things to be like how they used to be, before Ava was here.

He didn’t want to hurt anyone!

“Gil,” Six said again “you must be strong – you’re not a fighter, I know you’re not.”

_You know me_ , Gil thought, the idea so tantalizing and romantic in spite of the circumstances. _You know me, so stop me. You love Ava and you stopped her – if you love me, you’ll stop me._

Someone threw Six their shock prod, and looking through his peripherals, it was the halfer Odin. He was quick to scramble back under the ship he was using for cover, but Gil didn’t have the time to think about him – Six was armed now, and their confidence was doubled as they snapped the prods out and poised themselves.

They were both coiled for combat, two serpents with their fangs showing, waiting for the other to strike first.

“It’s a pity, Gil,” Six said aloud, unmoving. “I thought you were different from the other scavengers.”

The tension in his shoulders shattered at the claim. “I _am_ different! I’m-”

Then, Gil knew only darkness.

OOOOO

Ava felt Gil go limp – she had smashed her fist against his stomach in a moment of indecision, and when he toppled over she scooped him up with two arms. What an inconvenient little man, but she could read his expressions. TiTAN was such a cruel father to his creations.

“What?” Six asked in bewilderment. “You’re not going to kill him?”

“I know what it feels like to fight a war in your head,” she grunted bitterly. She looked over at him, and shrugged. “I can relate, and he’s a doctor – He’ll be useful enough.”

Ava scanned the room as Six clipped their prod back to their hip. “Hmm, oh, yeah. **_Maggie! Odin!_** ” Her voice went gritty and Six crumpled a little at it. “Come on, we’re leaving.”

Odin’s head appeared from behind a ship. “Wh-What? The scavengers-”

“The heat from my initial explosion is already throwing the engines off kilter, and soon this entire heavy cruiser will die in the sky.” She glanced down to Six. “I assume my ship is still around.”

They nodded and led her to the far side of the ship bay. Her ship looked terrible, but it had always been like that – a patchwork of metals welded and fused together, spikes spotwelded to the surface and bits of paint chipping off. It wasn’t an incredibly large ship, but it was enough to hold them – Ava entered first, with Gil in tow.

Six entered next, having already scanned the ship they knew what it looked like and sat in the seat behind the cockpit.

Odin and Maggie both entered and looked around curiously at their surroundings. There were bottles and jars of things shoved into nooks and crannies, shelves pouring over with scraps of papers and some scrolls. A few old pictures were taped to the walls, and all the seats were wrapped with worn red velvet cloth.

The entire ship smelled odd, too. Wild, and spicy – a bit like cinnamon but with a stronger bite.

“Sit your asses down,” Ava grinned maliciously “We’re getting out of here.”

“The cargo bay doors are still shut,” Maggie pointed out as Ava tossed Gil to the floor. “How’re you gonna get the ship into space?”

“The r-rough way,” Odin realized aloud and wrapped an arm around Maggie’s hip, yanking her into the seat parallel to his.

Ava flicked a few switches and dials, until another handle came into view. She smirked and announced “Hold on!” before her ship shrieked. Rusty barrels came into view from the cockpit window, and Ava fired.

Rounds and rounds of ammunition were poured into tearing the a hole in the hull – from there, the vacuum of space wrenched the hole open wider like a swollen wound and Ava fired up her ship, blasting through it.

Gil’s unconscious body might’ve slipped across the floor if Six didn’t plant their foot on his chest as they took off. Maggie groaned against the pressure as the ship sped up, and it spun slightly in space, rotating wildly before Ava stabilized it and pushed it into overdrive – to the stars.

Maggie pushed Odin’s arm off of her and wandered to the furthest window once she caught her breath – the heavy cruiser looked like the log of a campfire, black and freckled with glowing embers from the fire Ava started. The hole Ava made sparked, and the ship exploded, bits of fragments shooting in every direction.

She looked away and back to the group she was with.

“So, now what?”

“Now,” Ava said aloud as she slowed the ship “we go to my aunt’s.”

OOOOO

“ **A message came in** ,” the Scavenger announced aloud, single eye peering into the monitor “ **from the General’s vessel – the Vengess escaped, with hostages.** ”

“ ** _Hostages?_** ” a great voice asked skeptically, the undertone of inquisitive thoughts.

“ **Yes** ,” the Scavenger’s knuckles cracked as they tapped the screen “ **the General, the Doctor Gil Marverde, and two other prisoners.** ”

TiTAN laughed.

“ ** _How funny_**.”

He looked out to the continuing construction of his planet and rubbed a hand along his masked chin, quiet veins like insect wings creeping over the metal.

“ ** _Send an investigation unit_**.” He spun around and stalked through a shadowed door, blotting out the light until only his singular red eye could be seen.

“ ** _I want the Vengess_**.”

 


End file.
